


Witch of the Underworld

by moosey_writes



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alchemy, Angst, Assassination, F/M, Gen, Murder, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:02:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 39,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25651789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moosey_writes/pseuds/moosey_writes
Summary: Despite being Tsuna’s older step-sister, Iemitsu can’t hide his hatred for Yona very well. He believes she is evil, a witch because of her quirks. Yet, no one batted an eye when those very quirks saved her family from being murdered.  However, it came at a price.  Yona’s life will end when her ancestor takes over her body.  Now, she needs to find a way to survive.  And Yona thought the assassins sent by Iemitsu would be the worst of her problems.
Relationships: Reborn/Oc
Comments: 2
Kudos: 45





	1. First Comes Marriage

Iemitsu and Nana have been together for many years. They’ve been madly in love with each other the second their eyes met. It was meant to be. After a year of dating passed, Nana told Iemitsu about something important. She had a child, a girl named Yona. She took after her grandmother since they both have light brown hair and deep brown eyes. She was almost four. Despite that, Iemitsu still accepted Nana and her child. Though, Yona never liked Iemitsu mostly because in Yona’s mind, he was taking her mama away from her. It wasn’t long after dating that the two got married. Everyone was happy. Nana’s parents thought Iemitsu would be good for Yona. She needed a father in her life to guide her through life and protect her. At the wedding, Yona was miserable and stayed with her grandparents so Nana wouldn’t have to worry about her. Yona just glared at Iemitsu the entire time. He knew that and ignored it. Shortly after the wedding, Nana was pregnant. Unfortunately, it was announced on Yona’s fourth birthday. Instead of being happy like most kids her age, she was devastated. She did not want to be a big sister. For the rest of her party, she just sat and pouted. It was cute. Nana thought Yona would eventually get over it. It was normal for any child to have this kind of reaction. 

“Give him away.” Yona said to Nana while she was holding Tsuna. 

“Honey, we can’t. He’s your little brother.” Nana said softly. She had just got home from the hospital. 

“So?” 

“Yona, he’s part of our family. We can’t give him away.” Iemitsu said. 

Yona looked right at him and snarled. Nana sighed. Hopefully, Yona will get along with Iemitsu. A year passed and Yona started school. Every parent teacher conference, Nana and Iemitsu would always hear how kind and smart her daughter is. It warmed Nana’s heart to know Yona was getting along well with her classmates. One day, Yona handed Nana a piece of paper. 

“What’s this?” Nana asked and picked the paper up. It was a permission ship for a talent show. “Oh! What did you want to do?” 

“Sing.” Nana chuckled at how serious Yona was. She’s never sung in front of anyone, not even her own mother, before and now she wanted to sing in front an audience. 

“What are you going to sing?” Nana asked as she signed her name down. 

“It’s a secret.” Yona took the paper and ran to her room. A few weeks came and so did the end of the school year. Nana, Iemitsu, and Tsuna sat in the back and watched the performances for every student. It was a small graduation for their first year in school. When Yona walked up, Nana hit Iemitsu’s arm in excitement. 

“Start recording! Yona is up!” 

“I got it.” 

Yona looked serious when she looked at the audience. The peaceful music of a child’s lullaby clashed with her expression. It made everything cuter. To Nana’s surprise, Yona’s voice was good for her age. She was on pitch with every note and didn’t seem to be nervous. During the middle of Yona’s song, Tsuna started acting up. Some parents looked at them. Nana had no choice but to leave the room to calm Tsuna down. Iemitsu saw Yona’s eyes follow her mother with shock. She seemed heartbroken. When the song was over, everyone clapped and Iemitsu ended the recording. Nana wasn’t back until the very end of the graduation. Yona refused to go to Iemitsu and instead went to find Nana. When they all reunited, Iemitsu drove them home. 

“Your song was beautiful, Yona.” Nana said in the car.

“You didn’t hear it all.” 

“I’m sorry. Your brother was being fussy. I had no choice.” 

“Iemitsu could have brought him out.” Yona rebutted. 

“He was recording so we can watch it when you’re grown up.” She scoffed and ignored them all the way home. This went on for a couple of days. They didn’t expect Yona to keep it up this long. It was commendable.

Eventually, Yona stopped her cold shoulder streak and acted normal again. Nono went over for vacation to see Iemitsu and his family four years later. After all, he’s heard many good things about them. When he arrived at the airport, he could see Iemitsu and Nana. They looked like a very happy couple. That’s when he saw Nana’s daughter Yona holding a doll in her arms. Her light brown hair made it seem like she could pass as Iemitsu’s daughter. She didn’t look too thrilled to be there. And then there was the trembling boy behind Nana’s legs. 

“How was your flight?” Iemitsu asked. 

“It was wonderful. You two seem happily married.” Nono commented. Iemitsu put his arm around Nana with a big smile. 

“Well, she’s the best woman and mother in the world. There’s nothing that makes me happier than her.” Nono noticed how Yona glared at Iemitsu. Nono warned Iemitsu that rushing into marriage with Nana would be a mistake. He needed to take time to bond with her daughter because this would happen. 

“Tsuna, come say hi.” Nana said, gently dragging Tsuna in front of her. 

“H-hello.” Yona rolled her eyes at her brother. Nono knew this reaction well since it was the same reaction Xanxus had with his step-brothers. It was cuter on Yona than it was Xanxus.

When they all arrived to the house, Tsuna went out to play. “Yona, go watch your brother to make sure he doesn’t get hurt.” 

“Okay.” 

When Yona left the room, Iemitsu brought Nono upstairs to his room. “Your children are adorable.” Nono commented. 

“Thank you. They can be a handful at times.” 

“How is your relationship with Yona?” Iemitsu sighed. 

“She hasn’t warmed up to me at all. I’ve tried, but nothing has worked.” 

“I told you to create a bond with her before you married Nana. You need to figure things out. Xanxus started out like her.” Iemitsu froze and looked at his boss with unease. 

“She won’t turn into someone like him. Any hint of her flame is dormant.” Nono shook his head. 

“Trust me, Iemitsu. She will turn on you the second your back is turned. Do not mess this up.” 

Downstairs, Nana was humming while she made everyone lunch. She looked out and saw Yona teaching Tsuna how to catch a ball. It was nice to see them getting along. The men came back downstairs and sat in the living room. They saw the kids playing. Yona wasn’t teaching Tsuna how to catch. She was just throwing the ball at him. Tsuna tried his hardest to catch, but the ball bounced off his face into Yona’s hands. Iemitsu sighed and held his head. He has a lot of work. 

Since Iemitsu came into mama’s life, I knew he was bad news. There was something about him that was unpleasant. He had a stench I didn’t like. The only one that noticed was grandma and she saw I noticed as well. Iemitsu tried to play with me to get close. I knew he was only doing this to get to mama. I’d be alone a lot more with Iemitsu in the picture. Mama always went on a date every day. Grandpa was out playing cards with his friends and grandma was reading. She did give me a doll to play with. She had short black hair with blue highlights underneath her hair. She had light blue eyes and a dark blue dress. She was pretty. I still remember what grandma told me. 

“This is Aya. She’ll protect you and be there for you whenever you need her. She likes to dance.” 

Grandma talked like the doll could come to life. I didn’t believe her, but still graciously took the doll. She was beautiful after all. I’ll treasure her. Grandma and I looked alike. I only had mama’s eyes. I hardly knew what my real dad looks like. All I remember is the smell of alcohol and mama’s muffled cries of help. She told me not to tell anyone, but I told grandma. After I did, he suddenly disappeared. Mama never cried since and even Iemitsu hasn’t made her cry. At least, he hasn’t yet. I can’t let my guard down around him.

When they got married, I sat on grandma’s lap the entire ceremony with Aya. I wasn’t the flower girl like mama wanted me to be. Instead, they had one of Iemitsu’s relatives do it. I remembered it being a big event. There were a lot of weird people. They gave off the same stench as Iemitsu. Grandma knew I was on edge and let me go outside to play when it was around dinner time. I was alone and I’m sure no one noticed. I held Aya in my hands and moved her arms around. I loved her smile. 

“What are you doing outside?” I looked and saw a baby with a hat and a reptile. He put me on edge. I didn’t like it. It was worse than Iemitsu’s presence. It made my heart race anxiously. “Why aren’t you replying?” 

“Mama said it’s not good to talk to strangers.” 

“I’m a friend of your papa’s.” I looked at him and shook my head. 

“My papa isn’t here anymore. He disappeared.” 

“You don’t think of Iemitsu as your papa?” He asked with surprise. 

“He isn’t my real papa.” I replied, putting my attention back on Aya. 

“Is that your doll?” I nodded. “What’s her name?” 

“Aya.” The baby looked at the doll and hummed. 

“She looks scary.” 

“She isn’t scary. Look, her smile is pretty.” I showed him Aya. 

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” I knew he didn’t get it. No one would but grandma did. 

“Yona!” I looked up at grandma. “Come in and eat. Make sure you bring Aya with you. She needs to eat too.” 

Reborn took note of Yona’s presence. She wasn’t like the other kids running around. She had a sense of caution and did her best to conceal her presence. Iemitsu told Reborn of Nana’s past and knew Yona was the byproduct of abuse. Her actions said it all. He only wanted to see what kind of child Yona was since she might be introduced into the family. Sometimes, children are more perceptive than adults and Yona was one of them. She didn’t even acknowledge Iemitsu as her step-father or even anything other than Iemitsu. 

“What are you doing outside, Reborn? Did you want some fresh air?” Fon asked, walking out. He was another arcobaleno that came out of respect. 

“I wanted to meet Yona.” 

“Ah, Nana’s child. How did it go?” 

“She was immediately weary of me the second I showed myself.” 

“I’m sure that’s why she came outside. Everyone’s presence got too her.” A couple minutes passed and Yona came back outside. She saw Reborn and Fon and went the opposite direction. She was in a position where she wouldn’t be able to completely see them. However, she made the conscious decision to see them from the corner of her eye. Reborn and Fon looked at each other. 

“You can tell she doesn’t trust anyone here other than Nana and her parents.” 

“Not even Iemitsu?” Fon asked with surprise. 

“Idiot moved too fast and now doesn’t have a connection with Yona.”

When I found out I was going to be a big sister, I wanted to run away. I knew nothing would ever be the same. I’d be the forgotten sibling. Mama would love the baby more than me because the baby was made out of love. At least, I had Aya. When Tsuna was born, I felt threatened. I wanted them to take him back, but I couldn’t have that. Every night, Tsuna would cry more and more. The walls were too thin. I could hear everything, even the softest of footsteps. I covered my head with a pillow when I’d wake up to crying. It was annoying, but I managed. A couple year passed and Tsuna stopped crying in his sleep. I was thankful for it. I was even in elementary school. It was boring and a lot of the boys mocked me for having Aya with me. The girls thought Aya was freaky and possessed by a demon. This resulted in me not having friends, but I didn’t mind. During summer vacation, we went to the airport to pick up Iemitsu’s dad. I wish I could have stayed home. Tsuna was nervous like usual. I hated his timid nature. When I finally met Iemitsu’s dad, I got a bad feeling from him. I didn’t like it at all. It was intoxicating. 

When we got home, mama wanted me to play with Tsuna. So, I tied to teach him to catch. Though, Tsuna never was good at coordination. It’d be a miracle if he survived through elementary school. Every time I threw the ball, it’d bounce off his face and back into my hands. It was fun. I stopped when I saw a dog in the yard. I put the ball down and approached the small pup. I put my hand out for it to sniff me. It immediately liked me and allowed me to pet it. 

“Good boy.” 

Tsuna ran over to see the dog. Weird enough, the dog attacked Tsuna. He fell onto his back and screamed as the dog stood on his chest, barking at him. He didn’t try to bite. Iemitsu came out with his dad. The dog got off Tsuna and stood in front of me. 

“What’s going on?” Iemitsu asked, looking at me. 

“The dog barked at him.” I explained. They noticed how the dog was protecting me. 

“Do you know this dog?” Iemitsu asked. 

“I think he’s one of the neighborhood dogs. He just walked into the yard.” The dog was shooed off. 

“Go inside, Yona. We’ll take care of Tsuna.” I went inside. A minute later, I forgot I kept Aya outside. I ran out and took her. “Yona?” Iemitsu’s dad questioned. 

“I forgot Aya.” 

“I see. Do other girls in your class play with dolls?” 

“No.” 

It’s been only three days and the stench has covered the entire house. I hated how it made me feel. Even mama acted differently. She was more of an airhead than usual. 

“Mama, how long is Iemitsu’s dad staying here?” I asked mama while she was having me help cook. 

“Yona, that’s your grandpa. He’s staying for two weeks.” I groaned. “Do you not like him?” She asked. 

“I don’t like his smell.” 

“Yona.” Mama said in a dangerous tone. 

“It’s not like that, mama. It’s the way grandma smells.” Mama went from lecture mode to depressed. 

“I’m sorry, Yona. Your grandma told me you were like her in every way. I didn’t expect it to be like this.” There was something about grandma mama didn’t like. I could see it on her face. 

“I’m sorry, mama. I won’t talk about it anymore.” 

“You can talk to me about anything. I’ll try to understand as much as possible.” I knew she wouldn’t understand even if I explained it. It would be the last time I’d mention the smell to her. I’d only worry her. I didn’t want to do that to her. I told Aya everything like I usually do. Even if she never spoke, I felt like she understood what I was saying.

The next day, we all went to a park for a picnic. Tsuna was playing in the sand with other kids. We were being watched from the shadows and it scared me. I kept Aya close to me. 

“Do you want to go play, Yona?” Mama asked. 

“No.” 

“We came to the park so you can play, Yona.” Iemitsu said. Was he trying to make me guilty for not playing? 

“You don’t have to play if you want, Yona. Don’t listen to my idiot son.” Iemitsu’s dad said. 

I stood up and went to play in the sand. I left Aya with mama so she wouldn’t get dirty. There were other kids playing, but they all avoided me. I noticed some kids from my class. They all thought I was a baby for having a doll. Nevertheless, I still played in the sand. I mostly drew various things in the sand. I noticed something moved and looked at the trees. I went back to mama. 

“What’s wrong, Yona?” 

“I want to go home.” 

“Why?” 

“I don’t feel safe.” I got a reaction from Iemitsu. 

“What do you mean? No one here will hurt you.” He said. I shook my head. 

“The trees are moving.” I said quietly. 

“Of course, they are. The wind is moving them.” Mama said with a chuckle. I shook my head and took Aya. 

“I’m going home.” The adults looked at me and then each other. Mama handed me the key. 

“Be careful. Don’t talk to strangers.” 

“I know.” I grabbed the key and left. 

On the way home, I noticed I was being followed. My walk turned into a run when the stench got too much. I bumped into someone and fell. 

“Oh my.” I looked up and saw a tall man with black hair. There was a boy around my age with him. 

“Watch where you’re going.” The boy said in a cold voice. 

“I’m sorry.” I got up and looked behind me to see if that strange smell was following. The man crouched down to my level. 

“What’s wrong, child?” 

“Mama said not to talk to any strangers.” The man chuckled. 

“I’m not stranger. I am the protector of this town.” 

“Protector?” He nodded. 

“Will you tell me what happened?” He asked again. 

“I feel like someone is after me. They’ve been watching all day.” The boy let out a small gasp. 

“How do you know that?” The man asked. 

“I…I can smell them.” 

“What do they smell like?” I groaned. He wouldn’t understand. 

“It’s hard to describe. Only I can smell them. They were in the trees in the park.” The man rubbed the top of my head. He smiled gently. 

“Were you scared?” I nodded. 

“I don’t know where they are now, but they’re still watching me. I just want to go home where I’m safe.” 

“I’ll bring you home then.” He stood up and held his hand out. I took it and felt how warm his hand was. “Let’s go.”

When we got to my house, I took the key out. “Well, Yona, do you smell those people here?” Kazuma Hibari asked me. 

“No. They’re probably watching mama and Iemitsu.” 

“Is that so? I’ll look into those weird people and take care of them. I don’t want you to be scared in this town.” 

“Thank you.” I bowed and entered my house. Inside, I went to the phone and called grandma. 

“Hello?” 

“Grandma, I need help.” 

“Is everything alright? Did your mama get hurt?” 

“They’re all at the park. Everything stinks.” There was a small silence. 

“You’re special, Yona. You’re just like me.” 

“I’m scared. It’s suffocating me.” 

“When I have time, I’ll have you stay with me. I’ll help you.” 

“Thank you, grandma.” When I got off the phone, I sat on the couch and watched cartoons with Aya. When everyone came home, Tsuna ran in to watch cartoons with me. 

“I’m glad you got home safely.” Mama said. 

“Hibari walked me home.” Mama looked surprised. 

“They did?” 

“Kazuma walked me home with Kyoya.” I elaborated.

“That was awfully nice of them.” 

“They’re kind people. They keep everyone in Namimori safe.” I said, keeping my attention to the television. Mama kissed the top of my head before going into the kitchen with Iemitsu and his dad. Tsuna leaned against me while we watched our cartoons. I didn’t mind him when he was being quiet. It helped that he looked like mama.

Soon, Iemitsu and his dad left to the airport. Before leaving, Tsuna and I were given gifts. Tsuna got a toy while I got a red ribbon for me and Aya. I appreciated it, but it was unnecessary. Tsuna and I were going to the park to play. He wanted to show his friends his new toy. He held my hand tightly with a smile on his face. I noticed we were being followed. 

“Do you like your new toy, Tsuna?” I asked him. 

“I do! I’m sad you didn’t get one.” 

“He isn’t my real grandpa, Tsuna.” 

“Papa told me.” We were almost to the park. The stench was getting stronger, thicker. My grip on Tsuna’s hand got tighter. “What’s wrong, Yona?” I stopped walking and saw a man in a suit walk out from the corner. 

“Hello, children.” 

“Hello.” Tsuna said cheerfully. I pulled Tsuna closer to me. Could he not see that man was dangerous? 

“I’d like to speak with you, Tsuna. It’s about your papa. He and your mama were hurt. I was sent to bring you to them.” 

“Papa and mama are hurt?” Tsuna asked with tears welling up in his eyes. 

“They are. Let’s go, Tsuna. I’ll bring you to them.” 

“Okay.” I tugged Tsuna back to me before he walked to the man. “Yona?” I didn’t answer him and started running. “Where are you going?” Tsuna asked. 

“That was a bad man, Tsuna. He was going to hurt you.” His eyes widened. 

“What about mama and papa?” I bit my lip. 

“I don’t know. We just have to keep running, okay? Only trust me.”


	2. Then Comes A Gouged Eye

It didn’t matter how much we ran. The men could easily catch up to us. Tsuna was having a hard time keeping up. He was still small. Panic started to set in. If Tsuna got hurt, mama would hate me. She’d never be able to forgive me. I picked him up and started to run. I was thankful he was as light as he was. I looked back and saw them slowly come to a halt. Why were they doing that? 

“Yona!” Tsuna screamed. I looked ahead and saw more men. I couldn’t stop myself in time. They grabbed onto us. “Yona!” I was pinned onto the ground while Tsuna was held in someone’s arms. 

“We weren’t aware you’d give us this much trouble. You put us behind schedule by three minutes.” The man holding me said in a monotone voice. It was like he was robot. 

“Let go of Tsuna!” I demanded. One of them took out a gun. My eyes widened. I knew exactly what that was. Why is that? My memory is fuzzy.

“I see you know what this is.” He pressed it on my temple. Tsuna screamed in horror. I was going to die. Tsuna was going to die. No one was around to save us. Even if there were others, no one would save us. “Are you scared now, kid?” I was scared. Even papa never scared me like this. Yet, I still couldn’t show fear. I couldn’t give in. If I showed I was scared, they’ll only hurt me more. That’s what I learned.

“You’re as scary as an angry butterfly. There’s nothing scary about you!” I threw out the quickest insult my brain could think of.

“Brat!” I was kicked in the stomach. 

“Yona!” Tsuna screamed. I was kicked a couple more times. I held my stomach and coughed when they stopped. 

“I could hardly feel it.” I said quietly. I could hardly speak. It was the most painful thing I’ve felt.

“You’re good at pissing me off. Kill her.” My eyes widened as someone put the barrel of a gun right between my eyes. I looked at Tsuna. He was struggling against the man holding him. A hand covered his mouth. I heard a click and gulped. “You’ve held us back five more minutes. Truly, you’ll be better off dead.” 

“Someone, please.” I knew my silent prayers were useless. I saw the man’s finger move towards the trigger. I took a deep breath. “Somebody! Help!” I yelled with my eyes closed. I heard the man yell and opened my eyes. His hand was chopped off. 

“What the hell?!” 

“It’s not nice to hurt my master.” I looked and saw a woman with a blue dress and black hair. I could only see her back. She turned around with a crooked smile.

“Aya?” I questioned.

“At your service, master.” She curtseyed with grace.

“Kill them both!” A man shouted. She looked at the men and clicked her tongue. 

“Shall I kill them?” 

“Get Tsuna! They’re after him.” 

“Your wish is my command.” Aya quickly knocked down the men in one swift gesture. She gouged the eye of the man holding Tsuna. She picked the two of us up and started gliding away. I looked down and saw she was gliding on ice. How was she doing that? Tsuna was passed out. 

“Thank you, Aya. You saved our lives.” 

“You’re the one that called me, master. You saved yourself.” 

“I did? I thought grandma was joking when she said you’d protect me.” Aya chuckled. 

“She’d never joke about that.” I let out a sigh of relief. We were finally free. 

“I wonder why they wanted Tsuna.” I said aloud.

“He has a flame.” Aya explained softly.

“A flame?” That was the first I’ve heard about that.

“Iemitsu and his father have one too. It’s why they stink.” 

“Really?” She nodded before grunting.

“It’s the end of the road for me. I’m out of power. Get to safety, master.” 

Aya put us down before turning back into a doll. I picked her and Tsuna up before running back home. “Mama!” I shouted loudly. She came running out and caught me. 

“What’s the matter, Yona? How did you get hurt?” 

“Bad people.” 

“We found you!” The men from earlier were there. “You surprised us yet again.” They all got their guns out. I got in front of mama and Tsuna. 

“Don’t hurt them!” 

“We have a job to kill that kid and if we have to kill you and that woman, we will.” Aya couldn’t come back to life again. She didn’t have enough power. What could I possibly do? Nevertheless, I held my arms out to the side. 

“I won’t let you hurt them.” 

“Is she crazy?” 

“Just shoot her too. No one will cry about two civilians.” Civilians? What about Tsuna? I knew Tsuna was special because he had a flame, but it still didn’t make sense. 

“Run, Yona!” Mama yelled at me. 

“I can’t! I don’t want you to get hurt or cry anymore.” 

“Enough! Shoot!” In that split second, everything slowed down. Something in me clicked. It calmed me down. I held my hands out to shield myself from the bullets. A large light pink shield was created. It shielded us from the bullets. I looked at it with surprise. When the shooting stopped, I let my hands down. I looked at them with shock. How did I do that? I heard a thud and saw mama passed out. 

“Get them.” I heard the men struggling, but I was too busy staring at my hands. How the hell did I create a shield? A hand was gently put on my head. “Everything will be okay, Yona.” I looked up and saw Kazuma. “You did well to protect your family. I’m proud.” 

“What did I do?” I asked hoping he’d know.

“I don’t know. It looked like a shield. Were these the men that you smelt?” I nodded. 

“They’ve been following us for days and attacked when Iemitsu left.” Kazuma nodded. 

“Nana! Tsuna!” I saw Iemitsu running to us. “What the hell happened here?” He went to their side. His dad walked over. 

“You should be lucky, Sawada. Your daughter here alarmed me of these outsiders a couple of days ago. I was able to take them down in time before they were all killed.” Iemitsu looked at me. 

“How did you know?” 

“I could feel their eyes.” I lied. If I told him about my smell, there was no chance he’d believe me. He still looked confused. I crouched down and hugged my knees. 

“It’s okay, Yona. I’m not mad. Did you get hurt?” I nodded. “What did they do?” 

“They kicked me in the stomach a lot and put a gun to my head.” I said quietly. Iemitsu hugged me tightly. 

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t there to protect you two.” For once, I didn’t mind the physical contact. 

“Yona?” I saw mama sitting up. 

“Mama!” I shoved Iemitsu away and ran to her. “Are you hurt?” I asked. 

“I’m not. Thank you, Yona.”

Kazuma left the scene once all the men were detained. “See what I mean?” He said towards one of his distant relatives. 

“I see it now.” Fon spoke quietly. 

“Do you know anything about that shield of hers?” 

“I don’t. It’s all very new to me. I’ll look into it. I think it’d be best to train her to fight and defend herself. Tsuna will get that training when he’s older.” Fon replied. 

“I see. Yona also seems to have an insane ability to smell things. It’s how she figured out they were being watched.” Fon hummed with interest. 

“You know, it makes sense. At the wedding, she was on edge the entire time but immediately relaxed when she got outside. The only family Nana had was her parents. The rest were Vongola.” Kazuma and Fon looked at each other. 

“Is she sensitive to flames?” Kazuma questioned. 

“I’m guessing so. It’d explain why she stayed away from me and a colleague of mine.” 

“She’s strong.” Kazuma mentioned. 

“I saw. She was able to run with Tsuna in her arms. Her speed is also impressive for her age. Though, I’m sure most of it was from adrenaline.” Fon said. 

“How should I train her?” Kazuma asked. 

“Give her my training regimen but be gentle with her. Focus on speed and evasion. She isn’t a Hibari.” 

“I’ll do that. Thank you, Fon.”

A few days passed since the incident. Tsuna has been having a lot of nightmares lately. It’s been bothering me. If anything, I was the one that should have nightmares, but I guess everyone is different. Tonight was relatively difficult. He wouldn’t calm down and mama and Iemitsu didn’t go see him. I got up from my bed and went into his room. He was struggling like he did that day. I pushed his arm a few times. 

“Wake up, Tsuna.” He didn’t wake up. I pushed his entire body and he still didn’t react. I just wanted it to stop. I couldn’t take the screaming anymore. I straddled him and pressed my hands over his neck. I didn’t know why I was doing this. Was it because my own dad did the same thing to me when I’d cry? It felt natural. It felt like it was the only way to make the screaming stop. “Stop crying.” I said quietly. Tsuna woke up and saw me. He started to squirm and scream for another reason. I couldn’t stop myself. The door opened and I was thrown off Tsuna. 

“Yona! What were you thinking?!” I felt a hand slap my face. I put a hand on my cheek with shock. Iemitsu looked at me with disgust. “Were you trying to kill your brother?” I saw mama in the doorway with a hand over her mouth. She was stunned. She immediately went to Tsuna who was coughing. 

“It’s okay, Tsuna. Mama and papa are here.” Tsuna clung onto mama for his life. He couldn’t even look at me. 

Iemitsu dragged me into my room by my hair and slammed the door behind him. “What the hell did you do, Yona?” 

“He wouldn’t stop crying. Nothing was working.” 

“And you thought killing him would be the right thing to do?” I winced at Iemitsu’s loud voice. I covered my ears. “Answer me!” I flinched, expecting to be hit. 

“I didn’t know what I was doing.” 

“You don’t just choke someone and not know what you’re doing!” He yelled. He sighed and left my room, slamming the door. I messed up. I’m a horrible person. When morning came, I was still awake. I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t deserve it. I sat in the corner of my room with Aya in my arms. The door opened and mama walked in. 

“Good morning, Yona.” I didn’t reply. “We need to talk about what happened last night.” 

“Give me away.” I muttered. 

“I’d never abandon you, Yona. You need to know what you did last night was very wrong. You almost did something you couldn’t take back.” 

“I couldn’t stop myself.” 

“Do you know why?” 

“I don’t know.” 

“Do you want to come down for breakfast?” 

“I’m not hungry.” 

“I’ll bring something up for Aya. I’m sure she’s hungry.” Mama left my room. How could she still love me? Was she faking it? Aya moved in my arms and hugged me. 

“Everything will pass soon, master.” 

Another day passed. I refused to eat anything. I needed to be punished. No one was punishing me so I had to do it myself. Mama was worried. I hardly moved from the corner. The only place I went was the bathroom. 

“Yona, you need to eat something.” Mama said with a plate of food in her hands. 

“I’m not hungry.” 

“You’ve been saying that for the last two days. You need to eat.” 

“I’m sorry, mama. I’m really not hungry.” She frowned and left the plate in my room. I saw Tsuna peak in before running away. Iemitsu would ignore me when he walked by. An hour passed and a familiar face popped in the door. “Kyoya?” I questioned. Mama was behind him. 

“Your friend wanted to play with you. I thought he’d get you out of your funk.” Kyoya walked in. 

“Father wants to see you.” 

“Why?” 

“Training.” I stood up. I was taller than him. 

“Why does he want to train me?” 

“To defend yourself.” Kyoya took my hand and dragged me downstairs. I didn’t have much of a choice. I kept Aya in my room. Iemitsu and Tsuna weren’t home. 

“Have fun, Yona.” Mama said happily. Kyoya brought me to his house. It was a traditional Japanese house. Inside, we were met with maids. 

“Welcome home, master Hibari.” 

Kyoya brought me into a room where Kazuma was. He was reading a few papers. “I brought her.” 

“Good job, Kyoya. Sit down, Yona.” I walked over and sat across from him. “Did Kyoya tell you why I wanted you here?” 

“Training.” He nodded. 

“What do you think?” 

“I don’t have a choice.” I said quietly. 

“Very good. I just want to make sure you’re strong enough to protect yourself. You’ll see more of those bad men.” 

“I will?” Kazuma nodded. 

“You need to be able to defeat them with ease. Though, I’ll be more than happy if you can outrun them and defend yourself.” 

“What do you want?” I asked. He looked surprised. 

“What do you think I want something?” 

“No one like you gives something like this away without wanting something in return.” Kazuma started to laugh. 

“You’re an adult in a child’s body. I don’t want anything in return because you already showed me promise. I watched what happened when those men cornered you and your brother. Not just anyone can run that fast holding a small child. I was interested, but then you produced a shield.” I didn’t avoid his eye contact. “You’re strong, Yona Sawada.” 

“I’m not a Sawada.” 

“Huh?” 

“My mother and brother are Sawada. I’m not.” 

“Why?” 

“Iemitsu isn’t my real papa.” 

“What do you go by?” 

“Yona.” Kazuma smiled. 

“Let’s make a deal, Yona. If you pass my training, I’ll give you a family name to be proud of.” I shook my head. 

“I don’t need anything other than my name. Everything else is unnecessary.” 

“You really are a strange one. Not even adults would say that. A family name is important to have, Yona.” 

“I belong to no family. Iemitsu isn’t my family and my real papa is rotting. I have no family other than mama and my grandparents.” I spoke seriously. It was true. I hardly considered Tsuna my brother. 

“Sawada isn’t the best person, is he.” 

“If he had his way, I’m sure he’d have me out of the picture.” This took Kazuma by surprise. 

“Why?” 

“I almost killed Tsuna.” 

“How did you almost kill your brother?” 

“He wouldn’t stop crying. No matter what I’d do, he wouldn’t stop. I started choking him. When he snapped out of the nightmare, I couldn’t stop myself. My grip got tighter. Tsuna is afraid of me and Iemitsu ignores me. Mama deals with me because I’m her daughter.” I said, unsure of how he’d react. 

“Did you like the feeling?” Kazuma asked. 

“I think I did even though I knew it was wrong.” 

“Why do you think that?” 

“I’m a bad person.” 

“Were you punished for it?” 

“They didn’t punish me yet. I punished myself.” 

“What did you do?” 

“I haven’t eaten or drank anything in two days.” 

Kazuma stood up and left the room. He came back in with tea and a plate of food minutes later. “Eat.” 

“I’m not hungry.” 

“Stop the self-pity. It’s disgusting.” I grumbled. “Eat and we’ll train tomorrow.” 

“I don’t want to.” He sighed. 

“It won’t kill you to eat.” 

“It won’t kill me to not eat.” I retorted. I immediately smelt something I didn’t like. I held my stomach.

“What’s wrong?” Kazuma asked. I continued to twitch as the scent got stronger. The door opened and a baby walked in. Kazuma looked at the baby. 

“How do I know you? Your scent is familiar, but I don’t remember you.” I spoke weakly. 

“If you eat, I’ll answer you.” 

“I’ll pass.” 

“What will you do in order to eat?” The baby asked me. 

“Nothing will make me eat.” 

“I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way. A warrior needs to have a proper diet.” 

“I’m not a warrior.” The baby took some of the rice and smiled at me. 

“I’ll just force you eat.” He jumped at me. I kept my mouth shut. He hit my throat to make me cough. As soon as I opened my mouth, the rice was thrown down my throat. I immediately swallowed. “There. One should never force themselves of basic necessities as punishment. Go without sweets or without playing with toys. Don’t deprive yourself of the necessities.” The baby said. 

“I don’t like sweets and I don’t have any toys.” 

“You have that doll.” Kazuma said. 

“Aya isn’t a doll to be played with!” 

“She’s a doll, Yona. A toy.” Kazuma said. 

“You’re wrong. Aya protects me.” The baby looked at Kazuma and shook his head. 

“Eat the rest of the food, Yona.” The baby said. I grumbled but still ate the food. I didn’t realize how hungry I was. I ate everything on the plate. 

“Sir, there’s a woman asking for Yona.” A maid said. 

“Who is it?” 

“It’s someone claiming to be her grandmother.” My eyes widened with delight. I got up and ran to the front. Grandma was outside the door. She saw me and smiled. 

“Grandma!” I jumped at her and hugged her. 

“It’s good to see my little sunflower again.” I giggled. Kazuma and the baby walked to the front. 

“Is this woman your grandmother?” Kazuma asked. 

“She is!” Grandma started to pet my head. 

“Your smell is quite powerful for your age. Even my senses weren’t that strong until I was a teenager.” I tilted my head in confusion. “Anyway, I came here to bring you home. I even brought you another doll.” 

“I only need Aya.” Grandma shook her head. 

“You need more protection other than Aya. Let’s go.” Grandma bowed to Kazuma. “Thank you for looking after my granddaughter. She may seem strange to you, but she’s an honest, kind girl.” 

“It’s my pleasure.” 

When we left, grandma gave me the doll she promised. She had long brown hair that was tied back into a low ponytail. She wore a long green skirt and shirt on. Her eyes were a color of green I’ve never seen before. 

“Her name is Freya. Make sure to treasure her.” 

“Is she friends with Aya?” 

“Of course. You may not believe me, but they were made to protect you.” Grandma explained. 

“I understand. Aya came to life and saved me and Tsuna.” She stopped walking and stared at me with surprise. 

“What did Aya do?” 

“She cut off a man’s hand and knocked a few back. She even went as far as gouging an eye out. She then picked me and Tsuna up before gliding on an ice path. She couldn’t go long, but it was enough to run away.” 

“You should have called me shortly after that happened, sweetie.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“Did anything else strange happen too?” I nodded happily. 

“I made a huge shield that protected us from bullets.” I put my hands up to demonstrate how large it was. 

“Was the color of that shield pink?” She looked scared for me. 

“It was.” Her eyes widened a second time. “Am I in trouble?” I asked. 

“Not at all. You just surprised me. Would you like to stay with me next year?” 

“Yes!” She chuckled. 

“Did you miss living with me that much?” 

“It’s not that. I think everyone hates me.” 

We started walking again. “Your mother told me what you did to Tsuna.” 

“I couldn’t stop myself.” I admitted to her. She was the only person I couldn’t lie to.

“It’s not your fault, Yona. There’s a reason why you did that. I’ll explain more when you live with me. Spend the rest of summer in Namimori and then you can have fun with grandma and grandpa.” I smiled widely. It sounded like a dream come true. I didn’t have to deal with Iemitsu or his weird stench. When we got home, mama welcomed us. 

“Will you eat something, Yona?” Mama asked.

“I already ate.” 

“You did?” 

“Kazuma forced me to eat. He wouldn’t let me go with grandma unless I ate everything on the plate!” Grandma caught my lie instantly. She played along with me. 

“You should have seen her. She has your father’s appetite.” Mama started to laugh. 

“I’ll be in trouble when you’re older, Yona.” 

“Go upstairs and play with your new toy, Yona. I want to visit with your mama.” 

“Okay!” I ran upstairs and saw Aya on my bed. Once I closed the door, Aya came to life. 

“Welcome home, master. I see you have Freya.” 

“You know Freya?” 

“Of course! We’re sisters. She’s my older sister.” 

“When will she wake up?” I asked, putting Freya on the bed next to Aya. 

She poked Freya’s cheek. “You haven’t powered her up yet.” 

“Huh?” Aya chuckled. 

“You’re cute when clueless, master. You just need to work on your power.” I sat on the bed. 

“I’m still confused. What power do I have? Why do I have it? Why did grandma look afraid when I told her about the shield?” I asked in a quiet voice. There were many things I didn’t understand. 

“You’ll learn about that soon. For now, allow me to tell you what Iemitsu said about you.” I gave my full attention to Aya. She chuckled with a crooked grin. “I heard him on the phone with a man called Nono. He compared you to a horrible man named Xanxus.” 

“Who could those people be?” I wondered aloud. 

“He told Nono you were an evil person. He even thought of a way to get rid of you so they can live happily as a family.” My heart dropped. I felt empty, angry. 

“Does he hate me that much?” 

“Tsuna is very important to this Nono man. Tsuna was almost kidnapped because of his flame, master. You are irrelevant to them.” 

“All because I don’t have a flame?” 

“That’s correct. Iemitsu had the entire conversation in here with an unfamiliar phone.” Aya kept informing me of the sketchy things Iemitsu has done. It didn’t sit well with me. At least my suspicions were correct. He was not a good person and the second he gets out of line I’ll have Aya take care of him. And if he were to hurt mama, I’ll kill him with my own hands. “That’s it, master. Those are the exact thoughts you should have.”


	3. Growing Pains and Anger

The next day, I went back to Kazuma’s house with both Aya and Freya. The baby was there as well. They immediately noticed the dolls, but they didn’t say a word. I’m sure it’s because I’d yell at them. Freya and Aya are my protectors. They’re my friends. They’re not a regular doll like they thought. They’re all I need. 

“Welcome back, Yona. Are you ready to get started?” Kazuma asked. 

“Yes.” 

“Did you eat breakfast?” The baby asked. 

“I did. Mama made a big meal because grandma came to visit.” 

“That’s good. Did you bring your dolls so they can watch you?” The baby asked me. 

“That’s why I brought them. Freya is Aya’s big sister. Grandma told me there are two more dolls. She’s going to give them to me when I go live with her.” I said happily. 

“When is this?” Kazuma asked. 

“After the summer. She wants me to stay with her for a while.” I put the dolls down in a sitting position so they could watch from a corner. “Shall we start?” I said with a smile. 

After a few hours, I was taught how to maneuver around punches. Though, Kazuma was taking things very slowly with me. He only wanted me to learn how to defend myself. “When someone goes for this kind of attack what do you do?” Kazuma asked me as I slowly moved away from a slow punch that was aimed for my head. 

“Gouge the eyes.” 

“Well…that is one answer.” Kazuma said at a loss of words. The baby chuckled. 

“You might not be a Hibari, but you think like one.” 

“What does that mean?” I asked. 

“The Hibari are always violent. Though, you’re the first child I know to think of gouging the eyes.” 

“I saw Aya do it. She even cut someone’s hand completely off.” Kazuma and the baby looked at each other and then back at me.

“Are you sure it was Aya?” Kazuma asked. 

“I’m sure. Freya can come to life too, but she doesn’t have any power.” 

“How do you power them up?” The baby asked. I hummed and looked at the dolls. 

“I don’t know. All I remember was calling out for help and Aya appeared. She brought me and Tsuna away from the men but stopped when she ran out of power.” I explained shyly. The two didn’t seem to get it. I didn’t blame them. I didn’t even understand most of it. 

“That explains what we found.” Kazuma said. The baby got closer to me. 

“Look me in the eyes, Yona.” I got on my knees and looked into his eyes. “Are you telling the truth about your dolls coming to life?” 

“Yes.” I immediately looked at the dolls. They were emitting a weird aura. Only the baby took note of this. 

“Is that coming from the dolls?” The baby asked. 

“Freya is angry with you. Please don’t do whatever you were doing again. I fear for what will happen to you.” 

“You’re a very kind person, Yona. For your kindness, I shall give you my name. I am Fon. We met at your mother’s wedding.”

For the rest of summer, Kazuma and Fon have been teaching me basic self-defense. They said I didn’t need any more than that. Kazuma would have some of his family “ambush” me on my way to and back from the park. He wanted to see how I’d do during a surprise attack. I was finally done training when the summer ended. He and Fon both said their goodbyes to me. It would be the last time seeing them for a while. Though, living with grandma will be more fun. I’ll have someone who understands me. Iemitsu drove me to grandmas. I wasn’t happy about it, but mama had to stay back and bring Tsuna to a psychiatrist. I guess I accidentally scarred him for life. The car ride was relatively silent. There was only small talk like usual. 

“Do you hate me?” I suddenly asked. We were about ten minutes away from grandma’s house. 

“I don’t hate you.” 

“Why?” 

“I can’t hate you, Yona.” 

“Is it because you’d make mama sad if you did?” He hesitated. 

“That’s not it. I know it wasn’t your fault for choking Tsuna.” Iemitsu said softly. 

“You said I was an evil person.” 

“When did I do that?” 

“Will you get rid of me?” He gasped. 

“Where did you hear all of that?” 

“I heard it from Aya.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous, Yona. Aya is a doll. She can’t talk.” He didn’t say anything about not getting rid of me. He just changed subjects. Did that mean he was planning on getting rid of me? I was confused.

When we got to grandma’s, Iemitsu took my suitcase and brought it to my old room. “My sunflower!” Grandpa yelled with his might before hugging me tightly. “Thank you for bringing her, Iemitsu.” 

“It’s my pleasure. Hopefully, she’ll go back to normal here.” Grandma smiled gently. However, I could see her distaste for him. 

“She just needs some time to relax. Let’s go, Yona. We have a lot to do.” She said softly.

“Okay!” Inside, I watched Iemitsu leave. His expression made me feel uneasy. It was dark. 

“Don’t worry, Yona. He will not hurt you.” 

“He’ll send people.” I said with certainty. 

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll protect you. Now, go unpack. We have a lot we must discuss.” 

“Okay.” I went to my old room and put Freya and Aya down on the bed. They seemed content here. The next day, grandma sat me down in the living room. Grandpa was outside with his luscious garden of sunflowers enjoying some snacks. 

“Are you scared of yourself?” Grandma asked me. 

“No.” 

“You produced a shield out of nowhere. Did that scare you?” 

“It scared me at first. I guess it just surprised me. I don’t know how I was able to do it.” 

“You’re special like me, Yona.” 

“What does that mean?” 

“We’re alchemists.” 

“Isn’t that only in myths and cartoons?” I asked. 

“There’s always truth to myths.” 

“What does being an alchemist mean?” I asked. Grandma only smiled. 

“It’s a wonderful thing. We can create and destroy anything. We can protect and kill.” 

“We can basically do anything then.” I commented happily.

“We can almost do anything. We can’t bring the dead back to life.” I hummed with interest. “There’s a curse that runs in our family, Yona. Every female born is an alchemist.”

“Even mama?” She shook her head. 

“You mama isn’t one. I found it very odd until you told me about what you did. Most alchemist at your age cannot create shields or even manifest the dolls into life size.” 

“Why do you look sad?” 

“Our ancestor was a very powerful alchemist. She was seen as a god by everyone. Those in our family that produce a pink shield like you are said to carry our ancestor’s soul so she may live again. You will face a lot of challenges in life. You may not even live very long.” Grandma looked serious, but she was in pain because of what I’d face. 

“Does having our ancestor’s soul make my smell weird?” I asked. 

“That’s part of it. It’ll soon effect your other senses. You’ll have very sensitive hearing and your eyes will be able to see the smallest of details. Your taste will even change. The stronger the alchemist, the stronger the effects.” 

“Is there anything good about this?”

“Let me see your hands, Yona.” Grandma completely changed the subject. I placed my hands on top of hers without questioning. She kept staring at my hands. They were starting to feel warm. 

“What are you doing?” 

“I’m letting my power merge with yours.” 

“Why?” 

“How else will you be able to wake Freya up?” I brightened up. I wanted to speak with Freya and ask what Fon did to me that angered her. I couldn’t wait to hear her voice. She took her hands away from mine. “You see, Yona, I wanted you here because once you broke off that seal, you’ll start to go through an alchemic puberty. Soon, you’ll start to face many things. Your mama wouldn’t understand.” I nodded. 

“Hey, grandma, why do certain people smell worse than others?” I asked out of curiosity. I wanted to know if Aya told me the truth.

“Humans have these things called flames. People like us have a very small flame. It’s so small, no one can detect us. However, since you’re so powerful, I’m sure you don’t have a flame. We can sniff out powerful people. The stronger the stench, the stronger the flame.” 

“It all stinks.” Grandma started laughing. 

“It does. Though, once you go through your puberty, you won’t struggle as much. Their smell will go away, but those who are very powerful will still have a smell to them.” 

“I noticed Kazuma and Fon smell the same but are different.” 

“Ah, those must have been the two who were training you. Fon is the baby, correct?” I nodded. “He and six others like him will always have a strong stench. You’ll always be able to find them no matter where you are.” 

“Why?” 

“They’re an oddity like us, but they’re very necessary for the world.” I tilted my head. That made no sense. “You see, we’re linked with them.” 

“Because we’re alchemists?” Grandma nodded. 

“We are what links everything together. Without them, life cannot go on.” 

“So, Fon needs to stay alive?” 

“That’s right. There is no way for him to grow or die of age.” 

“That’s sort of sad.” 

“It is and there is no way to free them.” 

“Alchemy can do anything, right? Alchemy can free them from the curse.” I said with determination. It wasn’t fair for Fon to be like that for eternity. 

“Alchemy has its limits, Yona.” 

“I’ll just find a way to break that limit!” Grandma chuckled softly. 

“You really do have a kind heart. I hope you break that limit one day. I’ll be rooting for you.” 

“You’ll be the only one, grandma. No one else will understand.” 

“That’s the only downside. No one other than alchemists will take us seriously.” 

While at grandma’s, I was able to make shields on command. She taught me how to read, as grandma calls it, the ancient text it and how to make things out of other things like sand and rocks. There were even these small creatures that would serve me. They were called Noise. They looked like made up creatures that varied in a slew of colors. If I put in a lot of power, they’d be human size. If I put in a small amount of power, they could be as tiny as ants. They’re only used to destroy. Another thing I learned was how to put a homing symbol in rooms. Grandma had a small glass tube that when destroyed, will bring whoever broke it back to wherever the homing symbol is. It was a brilliant invention and something I’d definitely use in the future. Grandma sat down with me one day with two more dolls. 

“Now, Yona, I want to introduce you to the rest of the dolls.” 

“Two more? I haven’t even woken Freya up yet.” 

“I know, but I want you to have them.” She handed me a doll with long lavender hair and yellow eyes. She wore a beautiful white dress. “This is Elf.” She then handed me a doll with medium length platinum blonde hair that was put into a ponytail. She had purple eyes. And wore a black dress. “This is Alter.” 

“They’re beautiful.” I said with awe. 

“I’m glad you think so. They’ll help protect you along with Freya and Aya.” 

“How can I wake them up?” Grandma stayed silent. “Grandma?” 

“You won’t like it when I tell you.” 

“Just tell me.” I pouted. 

“You need to wake them up with memories.” She looked at my confused face and smiled. “Aya needs to kill a person to wake one of them up. A life for a life, Yona.” 

“Equivalent exchange.” I muttered. 

“That’s right. Aya woke up because she already had memories inside of her. All she needed was for you to call her.” 

“How come she didn’t grow when I called her name before?” I questioned. 

“When you were in danger, you unconsciously used alchemy to call Aya.” I looked at Aya and smiled. She was my savior. They all were. I just needed to wake Freya, Alter, and Elf. And even though three lives had to be taken, I’m sure it’ll be easy to find three people. If more people are after Tsuna, it’ll be the perfect excuse. I won’t feel guilty about killing them. Well, Aya would do the job for me. It’s not like I’ll get my hands dirty. I rubbed my eyes. They were starting to burn. 

“I see your sight is starting to be effected. It’s going to hurt for a couple of days. They’ll be sensitive to light.” 

“Do I just keep them shut?” I asked. 

“Unfortunately, that’s the only thing to do.” 

For a complete week, I’ve been wearing bandages over my eyes. Grandma made sure to put a piece of cloth over the bandages so I couldn’t see any light if I opened my eyes. Just moving them hurt. Unfortunately, my hearing was getting sensitive. Slowly, my sense of touch became sensitive. Grandma wrapped me up in a special blanket to help. She even had me wear noise canceling headphones to help. I was basically bed bound and slept a lot. 

“I’m here with dinner.” I head grandma whisper. I could hear her through the headphones. I felt her sit down next to me. “Open wide.” I opened my mouth and felt a spoon hit my tongue. It was soup. “How is it?” Grandma asked. 

“It’s really good. What kind of soup is it?” 

“I see your taste did change. I’m feeding you an herbal soup. It isn’t the most pleasant thing to eat or smell.” 

“Will I get over it all or will I just get used to it?” I asked. 

“You’ll get over most of it, but you’ll always have to deal with remnants.” She fed me the rest of my meal. I wondered what mama was doing. I wonder if Iemitsu is plotting something while I’m not there. He might, but I’ll have Aya and the rest. They’ll protect me.

After a month of being bed ridden, my body was finally letting up. I could open my eyes as long as I wore sunglasses. I still couldn’t go outside or have any of the curtains open. I was able to move around as long as my skin didn’t touch anything other than the special fabric I used as a blanket. Grandma took extra fabric and made me a kimono and socks out of the material. I was thankful to everything she did for me. I still had to wear headphones, but it was getting harder to hear with them on. It meant my hearing was going back to normal. I was thankful for that. During this time, grandma taught me many alchemic symbols and what they mean. Each symbol derived from one of four families which represented the elements water, earth, fire, and wind. They were relatively easy to read and memorize. Grandpa would try and read them, but they looked like drawings to him. He did try for my sake and made learning them a lot more bearable. When my senses finally calmed down, I was good to go home. It only took another month. From what grandma told me, this was worse than actual puberty.

Iemitsu parked outside of grandmas. I had everything I’d need. Grandma gave me a few things I’d need. From my sensitive blanket to a machine that can aid in engraving alchemic materials, she made sure I was all set. She looked sort of sad sending me off. All she did was smile when I noticed. 

“Become strong, Yona.” 

“I will, grandma. You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll become the world’s strongest alchemist.” Her smile widened. 

“I’m sure you will.” She watched me get inside the car. Her and grandpa both waved as Iemitsu drove off. 

“How was grandma’s?” 

“It was fun.” 

“What did you do during your stay?” 

“She taught me a lot of things like how to cook rice.” 

“Your mama will be so proud. You’ll have to cook everyone dinner one night.” 

“I will.” Iemitsu kept up the small talk on the way home. Once we arrived, I ran inside and hugged mama. 

“Ah! You’re finally home!” Mama hugged me tightly. “How was the academy?” I blinked a few times. Academy? 

“I went to grandma’s, mama. Don’t you remember?” I asked her. 

“Huh? Sweetie, grandma and grandpa passed away years ago. You were only five. Don’t you remember the funeral?” What was going on here? Iemitsu walked in. “Honey, Yona thinks she went to my mother’s.” Iemitsu frowned. 

“You must miss her a lot, huh?”

“I’m going to go upstairs to take a nap. I’m tired.” 

When I got to my room, I took out my four dolls. Grandma was definitely alive. Grandpa was full of life. There was no way they died. Iemitsu even asked me about grandma on the way home. I sat on my bed and pondered. What could have immediately changed their memories? 

“They’re dead, master.” I looked and saw Aya. She was sitting up. 

“How can that be? I was definitely there and interacted with them. I even got Alter and Elf.” 

“That’s correct, but they’re dead.” 

“That doesn’t make sense.” 

“It does if you apply alchemy to the equation.” I furrowed my brows. This was confusing. Alchemy can’t bring back the dead. “They were a homunculus.” My eyes widened. “Your grandmother did die when you were five. However, she knew you were a powerful alchemist the second you were born. That’s why she created a copy of her memories as well as a homunculus to teach you. It carried your grandmother’s memories and thoughts. In essence, she was the real thing with a fake body.” My head started to spin. “It’s okay, master.” 

“That’s why she looked so sad when I left.” 

“That’s right. She told us not to tell you until you got home.” It made sense. Sometimes when they’d touch me, their bodies would be colder than usual. “When you become more advanced in alchemy, you’ll be able to make a homunculus too.” 

“How did they die? I don’t even remember the funeral.” 

“Murder.” Aya said. I could tell she told the truth. She wouldn’t lie to me. She wasn’t programed to lie.

“Who killed them?” 

“Are you sure you want to know, master?” 

“Why wouldn’t I want to know, Aya?” 

“Your hatred will only increase. I don’t want to see my master become a bitter person.” Aya said with a cheerful smile. 

“It’s okay, Aya. You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll never be bitter to you or your sisters. You’re my family.” She suddenly gave a wicked smile. 

“As expected, my master is most kind. They were murdered by no other than Iemitsu!” Aya said with a song like tone. My eyes widened. Why would Iemitsu kill them? Did he do that so he could have mama?

“Do you know why?” 

“I don’t. I’ve been with you. My sisters were locked away. So, they won’t know either.” 

“How do you know it was Iemitsu then?” I questioned. 

“I heard him talk about it while I was in the room.” Anger started to fill my body. How could Iemitsu do this to me? Not only did he take away mama, but he also killed my grandparents. “By the way, master, Iemitsu had help. He has men under him that will do anything for him. He might send those people after you. After all, you hurt his son.” 

“What will we do, Aya? How should we make him suffer? Killing is too kind. Don’t you think?” I asked. She chuckled. 

“Should we hurt Tsuna again?” 

“No. It would make mama mad. I don’t want to hurt her.” 

“We’ll just have to wait for the opportunity for an attack. Not only will we make Iemitsu angry, we’ll also awaken Freya, Alter, and Elf.” 

“Thank you, Aya. Keep an ear out for anything and take care of anyone that you deem is a threat. However, do not harm Tsuna or mama.” She stood up and did a curtsey. 

“I’d never disobey my master’s word.”


	4. Run

The air in the house kept getting tenser with every passing day. It even followed me when I went to school. It was mostly from Iemitsu and I. We both despised each other and for good reasons. It’s been like this for three months. While walking home from school, Aya alarmed me of people following us. I could hardly smell them when I concentrated. That meant they were hiding themselves on purpose. Regular people with flames didn’t smell that faintly. I turned the corner and pulled Aya out from my bag. She grew to human size. It was something that didn’t take a lot of energy out of me. She hid in the shadows while I crouched down to look at something. I could fully smell them now. One by one, their scents were disappearing. I stood up once all of the scents went away. I saw dead bodies on the ground. I grimaced. 

“Don’t worry, master. Death is just a process for humans. Anyway, I have enough memories to awaken everyone.” Aya turned back into a doll. I caught her before going back home. Iemitsu looked surprised to see me. He was the one that sent the people after me. 

“I’m back home, mama.” 

“Welcome home, Yona. How was school?” 

“It was boring. Sending me to that academy made school go slow. I learned everything already.” Mama chuckled. I had to play along with the notion I actually did go to an academy. It’s easier on everyone if I did. As long as I knew the truth, nothing else mattered.

“I’m glad you’re so smart, Yona.” 

“So am I. Grandma used to say how I’m exactly like her.” I saw Iemitsu’s stare darken. 

“Go do your homework. Dinner will be done shortly.” 

Upstairs, Aya moved out of my arms and kissed each of her sisters on the lips. They opened their eyes before closing them again. “I thought they’d come to life.” 

“They’re getting used to the new power. Let them rest. They’ll wake up when you need them. Your power is still too raw and small to use all of us at once.” 

“How do I get more power?” 

“Your body is small, master. When you grow, your powers will too. For now, using me to get rid of threats are all you need to keep your training up. You’ll awaken my sisters one by one until you can use all of us. That will expand your power limit.” 

“Yona! Tsuna! Dinner is ready.” Aya fell back down lifeless. I went into the kitchen and sat down at the table. I was across from Iemitsu while mama sat next to Tsuna to help him eat. Tsuna ate happily, squirming in his seat from the sheer joy mama’s food gave him. Iemitsu and I had a staring contest during the majority of dinner. 

“How was school, Yona?” Iemitsu asked. 

“Boring.” 

“Did you make any friends? It is the start of a new year after all.” 

“No. I don’t need to make any other friends than the ones I have now.” 

“By the way, will you participate in the talent show again?” Mama asked me. 

“I think so.” 

“It’ll be nice if you sing again. Mama loves your voice.” 

School was actually really boring. Every day I went in, I’d repeat the same day over and over. Thanks to grandma’s teachings, I could absorb the information a lot quicker. It’s what happened when you’re taught a certain way to learn. It isn’t anything special. I’m not a genius. My classmates never interacted with me. They didn’t dislike me at all. In fact, they were all kind to me. I just didn’t put in the effort to become friends with anyone. We got an exchange student one day. 

“Hello, my name is Marco. I’m originally from Italy, but I came here to study.” He almost had no accent. Everyone was in awe. It was impressive he knew Japanese at a young age. 

“You can sit next to Hiro.” Hiro rose his hand. He was in the front. Marco looked at me and smiled before sitting down. I did not like that at all. It made my stomach ache. During recess, Marco approached me. 

“Hello.” I ignored him. He stunk like all the others. “It’s rude to ignore a new friend.” 

“You’ll never be my friend.” I said coldly. 

“Why not?” 

“I don’t like you.” I continued to play in the sand. 

“You’re not a good person.” He said bluntly. 

“And?” He crouched down beside me. 

“I don’t like it when people are mean to me.” He held my hand and started squeezing tightly. I continued to ignore him despite my hand starting to cramp. “Does it hurt?” 

“Not really.” 

“I’ll break your hand.” 

“Go for it. I’m sure they’ll ship you back to Italy.” He stopped and scoffed. 

“At least I don’t play with dolls.” 

“That’s an insult? How about you think of something better?”

A couple of weeks went by. We had a group project and of course, I was paired with Marco. “Isn’t that great, Yona? We get to spend the next two weeks at each other’s houses.” 

“It’s as great as my dead grandparents.” He was thrown off his guard. “We’ll go to my house after school.” I said. When we got home, Iemitsu looked at Marco with familiarity. It bothered me. Mama was surprised to see Marco. 

“Oh my. Did you get a boyfriend, Yona? He’s very handsome.” 

“He’s my project partner.” I said bluntly. 

“You can call me mama.” She ignored me and kept talking to Marco. 

“Okay, mama.” 

“Don’t call her mama. She’s not your mother.” 

“Don’t be rude, Yona.” Iemitsu said strictly. 

“You should have seen how rude she was when I tried to be her friend.” 

“Yona?” Iemitsu said as a warning. I ignored everyone and went into the living room. Tsuna was outside playing. He saw Marco and immediately didn’t trust him. 

“Your brother is cute.” 

“Let’s get on with the project. The quicker we get done, the less I have you in my domain.” 

“You’re so mean to me.” 

“You’re an annoying fly.” Iemitsu glared at me. 

“So, what do you want to be when you grow up?” Marco asked me. The project was to get to know each other. This included our favorite things and what we wanted to be when we grow up.

“Magician.” 

“Really? I can see you as the assistant. You don’t seem like someone who wants to be the center of attention.” I ignored him. 

“What about you?” 

“Assassin. I think it’s cool how they’re always in the shadows.” 

“Isn’t that childish?” I questioned, writing down his answer. 

“It isn’t. There’s a lot of assassins everywhere in the world. You never know who could be one. It’s exhilarating.” I stared at him for a few seconds. 

“I’ll call the police to put you on a list of people to keep out of Japan.” 

“No police would be able to stop me.” I rolled my eyes. It was a childish thought. “What’s your favorite color?” Marco asked me. 

“Gold.” 

“Mine is red. It represents anger.” 

“Do you know what gold represents?” I asked him. 

“No.” 

“It represents royalty.” He scoffed. 

“You? Royalty? I can’t see that.” This went on for another two hours. Most of the conversation trailed off into us watching cartoons and eating snacks. “Well, I’m headed home. Sleep well, Yona.” He had a grin I didn’t like. 

“Be safe, sweetie.” Mama said. 

“I will, mama.” The way he looked at her pissed me off. Once he left, Iemitsu sat me down. 

“Why did you treat Marco like that?” 

“Like what?” 

“You were rude and answered coldly to him. Do you not like him?” He asked. Mama was putting Tsuna to bed. 

“I don’t.” 

“If you don’t like someone, you don’t show it. You have to be nice to everyone.” I tilted my head. 

“I wasn’t showing it. If I really did, I wouldn’t even allow him inside the house.” 

“Marco is a good boy. He isn’t a troublemaker or a bad person.” 

“How do you know him, Iemitsu?” I questioned. He hesitated for a few seconds. 

“I don’t.” It was a lie. “Look, Yona. You need to let people in. It won’t be you and mama for your life.” 

“I have all I need. You can’t change my mind, Iemitsu.” I got up and went to my room. Aya was dancing on my bed stand. “Having fun?” I asked. 

“I am! Who was the boy?” 

“Marco. Something is off about him. I don’t like it.” 

“Do I get to have fun?” 

“If he even tries to attack me in my room, then you have my permission to have fun. I don’t want mama and Tsuna to be traumatized.” 

“Yes, master.” 

Again, Marco was at my house. Mama and Iemitsu weren’t here. They were probably shopping. This time, he crossed the line. “Don’t touch her!” I heard Tsuna yell. Why was he upstairs? Marco ran down with Freya in his hands. 

“What kind of weird doll is this?” He asked. 

“Let go of her.” I demanded. 

“Why?” He was playing with her as if she was a rag doll. Her limbs were going everywhere. 

“I’m warning you. Let go of her.” 

“Or what?” 

“Yona!” Tsuna ran down crying. He had Alter in his hands. Her clothing was ripped. My eyes widened. I glared at Marco. 

“What did you do to her?” 

“Huh? I wanted to see if she had the real thing underneath.” I gave Alter to Tsuna. 

“Keep her safe, Tsuna.” He nodded. I turned to Marco. I didn’t care if I’d get in trouble. I was going to teach him a lesson. 

“Why do you look so angry, Yona?” He asked nervously. I immediately punched him in the face. Once he let go of Freya, I gave her to Tsuna. Marco was holding his face in pain. I took a hold of his hair and slammed is head against the wall several times. 

“You do not touch what is not yours. How hard is that to understand?” I asked. 

“They’re just dolls. They’re meant to be played with.” 

My grip on his hair tightened. I dragged him into the living room and pushed him onto the ground. I got on top of him and started to choke him. I made sure to sit on his arms so he couldn’t stop me. He was struggling to breathe. I looked and saw Tsuna had gone upstairs to hide. I felt like snapping his neck. That’s when I was kicked off Marco. 

“Yona!” I looked and saw Iemitsu. Mama wasn’t here. 

“What do you want, Iemitsu?” 

“What the hell were you thinking? You almost killed an innocent child. Marco, are you okay?” 

“Fine, boss.” My frown deepened. Tsuna ran down with Alter and Freya. He had wrapped Alter up in a washcloth. 

“Tsuna?” Iemitsu questioned. 

“He almost broke Yona’s dolls. They’re important to her.” He handed the dolls to me. 

“Why is Alter in a washcloth?” I asked him. He smiled brightly. 

“I wanted to cover her up since her clothes were broken.” I rubbed the top of Tsuna’s head. 

“Thank you, Tsuna.” I looked and saw Marco snarling at me. I’ll be sure to get rid of him. 

“Go home, Marco. I’ll take care of her.” Iemitsu said tenderly. He showed more compassion to Marco than me. Once Marco was gone, Iemitsu slapped me across the face. Tsuna gasped and started to fuss. I looked up with a glare. I despised Iemitsu. “Your room, now. No dinner.”

That night, I was fixing Alter’s clothing. Thankfully, I could easily repair her dress. Aya jumped onto my desk. “Don’t worry, master. My sisters are strong.” 

“It doesn’t matter if they’re the strongest beings in the world. It wouldn’t even mattered if they were gods. They were touched.” 

“Your brother was very protective of us. He’ll come in and look at us.” This was new information. I looked at Aya from my homework. 

“Why does he do that?” 

“He thinks we’re really pretty.” Aya fell on the desk as the door opened. Mama walked in. 

“Yona…” 

“You don’t need to say anything, mama. I refuse to apologize to anyone. That thing touched my dolls.” 

“You’re very stubborn like your grandma. I know I can’t make you think differently.” 

“Did Iemitsu send you up here to discipline me?” I asked her. 

“No. I came to check on your dolls. Tsuna said they broke.” 

“They didn’t break. Alter’s clothing was ripped apart.” Mama looked at my handiwork. 

“You did a good job, Yona. I’m sure Alter appreciates it.” 

“I hope she does.” 

After that incident, Marco and I were separated. No one in class batted an eye. I didn’t have to work on the project, but I did have to do extra work on the side. It wasn’t much or a bother. In fact, I enjoyed not having to work with anyone. 

“Yona.” I heard Marco call my name out. It was the end of the day. 

“What do you want now?” 

“I wanted to apologize.” 

“I won’t accept any apologies from you.” 

“I’m trying to be the better person. I shouldn’t have touched your dolls.” 

“You still did it.” 

“Please? I really want to be your friend.” I shook my head. 

“I’d rather have a rock as a friend before you.” 

“Huh? Why a rock?” 

“I can trust a rock.” Marco suddenly had a personality change. 

“You don’t trust me?” He asked quietly. 

“I don’t.” 

“Run.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“I’m giving you a head start to run before I kill you. I’m still very upset at what you did to me.” I felt something I didn’t like. I took my stuff before running. I didn’t want to chance anything. I could hear Marco laughing. This kid was not sane. “You can’t run from me!” Marco yelled. I turned the corner and Marco was there waiting for me. I took off again. “Like I said, Yona. You can’t outrun me. I’m stronger than you. I’m faster than you.” I was starting to get scared. Was he really going to kill me? I saw Marco waiting up the street. How did he get there? I looked back and saw another Marco. How the hell were there multiples of him? “Now that I’ve got you cornered, I’m going to give you payback.” 

“By killing me?” 

“You learn quickly, Yona.” He had a knife in his hand. There was nowhere I could run. Marco prepared himself. 

“My, my. I never expected you to be the center of trouble, master.” My eyes widened. It wasn’t Aya. I felt a gentle, cold hand squeeze my shoulder. I looked up and saw Freya. She looked down and smiled. Marco looked at Freya with disbelief. 

“What? The doll came back to life?” 

“What shall I do to him?” 

“Freya…” I was still in shock that she came to life.

“Shall I kill him?” She asked me. 

“There’s no way a doll can kill me.” Marco said with confidence. 

“It’d be too suspicious if you left a dead body. Make it look like an accident.” 

“Such a devious master you are.” She curtseyed. “I shall complete my task perfectly.” Freya moved quickly to Marco and threw him towards a moving car. His body was rolled over. The man driving saw us and screamed. Freya walked over. “We don’t need any witnesses.” She kissed him, ultimately killing the man. She walked over and smiled. “It’s done, master. Shall we go?” I nodded. 

“Thank you, Freya.” 

“I should be thanking you, master. You gave me life and a purpose.” She turned into a doll. “Put me in your bag, master. No one knows I left. Iemitsu kept an eye on us today.” 

“He’s really trying to kill me…” 

“We haven’t heard the words come from his mouth yet, but that is what we suspect.” 

I put Freya into my bag and walked home. I wasn’t being followed. When I entered the house, no one was home. It was weird. Shouldn’t everyone be home? Something was off. I put my bag down on the table and opened it to get my notebooks. Freya put a finger to her mouth to keep me quiet. Once I put my stuff on the kitchen table, I got some snacks in the fridge. I sat and started my homework. The door slammed open. Iemitsu ran in and stared at me with surprise and relief. 

“Yona…” 

“What?” 

“You’re home.” 

“Was I supposed to not be?” I questioned. He shook his head. 

“It’s nothing. How was school?” 

“Boring. Where’s mama and Tsuna?” 

“They’re at the store. By the way, did you see Marco on the way home?” 

“No. Why?” 

“It’s nothing. I was wondering if you two made up.” I shook my head. 

“He hurt my dolls.” 

By the time mama and Tsuna got home, I was done my homework. There was a concert on playing on the television. I was enamored by the music. Iemitsu was watching it with me and noticed how interested I was. Tsuna was coloring on the floor peacefully. 

“Do you like the music?” 

“What’s that deep sound?” I asked. 

“That’s the bass. See? It’s the red instrument. Do you like the sound?” 

“I want to play it.” I said with quiet determination. 

“Maybe if you ask Santa, he might bring you one.” I rolled my eyes. 

“Santa?” Tsuna asked excitedly. 

“That’s right! You should start making a list so Santa knows what you want for Christmas.” It was nearing December. No wonder the number of toys on commercials increased. I hardly noticed it. The concert was cut off by a news report. 

“A freak accident happened today in Namimori where a child was run over by a car.” A news reporter spoke in a serious tone. Mama came running in as Iemitsu turned the sound up. “Sources say an Italian exchange student and a salaryman that worked at a local accounting firm are the two victims. There were no eyewitnesses. They were found earlier today.” 

I stared with surprise. “Yona?” Mama said with worry. 

“Yes?” 

“Are you alright?” 

“I’m fine…I think.” I answered honestly. It never really clicked in my head. I sent both of them to their deaths. Was I a bad person? Would anyone even believe me if I told them it was my fault? 

“All of Namimori schools will be shut down until further notice.” The reporter said before ending the segment. Iemitsu rubbed my back. 

“It’ll be okay, Yona.” He said in a gentle voice. It almost made me forget my dislike towards him. 

“I think I should have apologized.” I said with slight confusion. 

“Don’t think about what you should have done, Yona. It won’t help the heaviness.” Tsuna looked at me and noticed something was wrong. He got up from his spot and hugged me with a big smile. His grip was tight for a kid. 

“Are you worried about Yona, Tsuna?” Mama asked him. 

“Yona looked sad.” I put a hand on Tsuna’s back. Despite everything I put him through, he’d still hug me. School would be out for a month. The legal aspects between the two countries is what was rumored to be why school was out this long. 

“I’m going to lay down.” 

“You do that, sweetie.”

When I got upstairs, I ran to the bathroom and puked. I’m a murderer. The blood wasn’t on my hands, but that didn’t make my stomach feel better. I still gave Aya and Freya orders. They’re dolls in everyone’s eyes. Did he actually want to be friends with me? Did he only want to kill me? Mama came into the bathroom and rubbed my back. Even when I had nothing in my stomach, my body kept forcing itself to get rid of any remnants inside. Was it trying to purge my sin? 

“It’ll be okay, Yona. I’m sure he didn’t feel any pain. He didn’t suffer.” I knew mama was trying to make me feel better, but I knew the truth. His neck snapped as the tire rolled over it. I could still see his eyes popping out from the force. A human body wasn’t supposed to look that contorted. I started to heave again just from the memory. When I stopped, my body was drained to the point of exhaustion. “Let’s get you to bed. I’ll bring up some ginger tea and crackers.” I nodded and trudged across the hall to my room. I changed into my pajamas and got in bed. It was cold underneath the covers. I shivered. I didn’t want to feel like this. I shouldn’t be this guilty.

Mama came back in with tea and a package of crackers. She put them on a nightstand beside my bed. “Get some sleep, Yona. Tomorrow is a new day. Do you want anything while I’m here?” 

“I’m good, mama.” She kissed my forehead and left. Freya was still in my bag. Thankfully, I put it up in my room after I was done homework. She got out of the bag and jumped onto the bed. 

“My master is sick.” 

“I feel guilty, Freya.” 

“It’s all part of the process. Soon, you’ll be used to this.” 

“Why?” I asked her, snuggling into my blankets. 

“As an alchemist, life is essential to your work. It’s a necessary sacrifice.” 

“My work?” She nodded. 

“To awaken me, you needed to kill all those men. Aya did that for you. I was only awakened when I knew my master was in trouble.” 

“I’m confused.” She smiled and rubbed my forehead. 

“It’s a very complicated process, master. Sleep for now. You’re confused now, but you’ll come to understand. Good night, master. The four of us will keep you safe. That is why we were created.”


	5. Decapitation

A week has passed and I’ve finally been able to keep food down. I’ve been coming to terms for what I did. I had no choice but to accept my choices. I couldn’t change anything. School was still out and was offering private tutoring for everyone in the meantime. We didn’t take the school up on their offer. I’d be fine learning everything by myself. There was a small funeral for Marco. I was forced to go with mama and Iemitsu. Tsuna had a babysitter since he didn’t need to go to a funeral. For some reason, Iemitsu looked more disturbed by the whole thing than everyone at the service. Kids were crying and adults were tearing up imagining their own child in Marco’s position. A few of my classmates walked up to me. 

“Why are you here?” Ryo asked. He was the closest to Marco. 

“I came out of respect.” 

“You hated him when he tried to be your friend. You don’t deserve to be here.” 

“I’m aware, Ryo.” 

“I know what really happened to Marco, Yona.” 

“What happened?” I asked. 

“You pushed him.” 

“Ryo, that’s an awful and serious thing to say.” Ryo’s mother said. I froze in my place. I’m certain no one else was there. How would he know?

“It’s true! She pushed him into the car on purpose. She wanted him dead.” If he actually saw what happened, then he should have seen the knife in Marco’s hand. 

“I’m sorry about Ryo, Yona. He’s just really upset over losing Marco.” His mother said before pulling Marco away from me. Mama and Iemitsu looked at me with uncertainty. 

“Yona, did you push him?” Mama asked with uncertainty. She knew of my anger problems.

“I didn’t! Why would I?” She didn’t answer. Iemitsu looked away with disappointment. “I’m leaving.” I said quietly. 

“Where are you going?” Mama asked. 

“Anywhere but here.” No one stopped me as I left the service. If mama had the smallest thought that I pushed Marco, I’m sure everyone else does. Namimori was empty. It seemed like the town stopped for the funeral. So, I went home. The babysitter was there, but Tsuna was missing. 

“Yona?” The babysitter said with shock. She wasn’t expecting me.

“Where’s Tsuna?” 

“He’s taking a nap. Why are you home so early?” She asked nervously. 

“I wanted to come home. I’ll be in my room.” I took my shoes off and went up the stairs. Tsuna’s door was shut. I tried to open it but it was locked. I knocked on the door. “Tsuna?” There was no answer. I went into my room and saw Aya and Freya were dancing. “Where’s Tsuna?” 

“He’s locked in his room. He has Elf with him for some reason.” Aya said. 

“Why?” 

“He’s hiding from the babysitter. Apparently, she scared him.” 

“Is there a way you two can talk to Elf?” I asked them. 

“Of course. She’s a little upset, but she’ll protect him for your sake.” Freya said. They were both still dancing. 

“What do we do about the babysitter?” I asked them. 

“She’s being watched from afar. Don’t worry, master. For now, try to get into your brother’s room. He might be having a panic attack.” 

“He didn’t answer me. He could be asleep. How can I even open his door?” They stopped dancing and smiled. 

“Use a small pair of scissors to unlock the door.” Aya said. 

“I thought you’d say something about alchemy.” 

“Even alchemy has its limits.” I went through my drawers. I did happen to find some scissors. I went to Tsuna’s room and fiddled with the lock for a few minutes before unlocking it. 

“Don’t!” I heard Tsuna yell. 

“Tsuna? What’s wrong?” I asked quietly. I didn’t want the babysitter to hear in case she was after us.

“Don’t open the door.” 

“Why?” I asked. 

“Don’t! You’ll get hurt.” 

“Nothing can hurt me, Tsuna.” I opened the door with my left hand. That’s when I saw part of my arm fall to the ground. I didn’t even see a blade. Tsuna looked at me with shock. I collapsed onto my knees and stared at the remainder of my arm. I couldn’t even feel the pain. It all happened too fast for my brain to catch up. “What? How?” 

“It’s okay, Yona. If it hurts, I can help make the pain go all away.” I looked back and saw the babysitter and started screaming from the pain. She had a sinister smile on her face. She had a gun in her hand. “You must be a bad girl if you know what this.” She waved it around. “Finally, I’ll get acceptance into my family for killing you two.” I took my arm and tried to put it back, but even alchemy couldn’t do that. “Don’t you know it doesn’t work like that, kid? Are you that stupid?” I ignored her. My head was starting to feel light. I was losing too much blood. “Who the hell are you?!” The babysitter shouted. I looked up and saw Elf standing by Tsuna. She walked over to me and crouched down with a smile. 

“I’ll take away your pain for now, master. I’ll save your arm after we deal with this vile human.” Just form a single touch, I couldn’t feel a single thing. The bleeding also stopped. What did she do to me?

“Give us a command, master.” I turned and saw Aya and Freya were in their human forms. 

“Shall we kill her immediately?” Freya asked. 

“Do whatever, but don’t kill her or make any visible wounds or bruising. It’ll be too obvious there was outside help.” I commanded quietly. 

“Very well.” Before the babysitter could move, she was taken away by Freya and Aya. The two were cackling as they went downstairs. 

Elf went to Tsuna and knocked him out by putting her hand over his eyes. “There. He should be asleep for a couple of hours.” She put him on his bed and then picked me up. “Let’s get you all situated.” She brought me to my room. “Now, master, I can’t put your arm back onto you. I can make a fake arm that feels the same as your real one.” 

“What about my actual arm?” I asked her. 

“I’ll preserve it in case you want to make a homunculus one day. If you use actual flesh, your homunculus won’t be any different to you.” 

“Do what you need to do. I trust you.” She smiled brightly. 

“Thank you, master. Your compliment means the world to me.” She wrapped my arm up so I wouldn’t bleed out. I couldn’t feel a thing. Elf took a piece of my flesh from the decapitated arm to make a new one for me. I watched her make various symbols in a circle. I haven’t seen a circle like that before. I saw my arm beside her and felt sick. I had to look away or else I’d puke. “Go ahead and sleep, master. When you wake up, you’ll have a brand-new arm.” Elf’s voice was soft and melodic. “Okay.” 

Elf saw her master sleeping and smiled. “We lucked out, Alter. Our master is kind. I hope she calls out to you soon one day. I’m sure you’d like her.” Elf said. Alter was on the desk beside Yona’s bed. She was known for having a rough character. Even their previous master didn’t use Alter when she found out what kind of personality Alter had. Aya walked upstairs. 

“How is she?” She asked. 

“She’ll be just fine. It’ll take me a while to create another arm. Could you help stall master’s parents for me?” 

“How can we do that? Master wouldn’t like it if we showed ourselves to them.” Aya pointed out the obvious. They were only meant to be known to master and their victims unless it was an order.

“Create a distraction. I’m sure you can do that. Just don’t hurt anyone.” 

“I’ll let Freya know.” 

“What happened to that woman? Elf asked. 

“She’s knocked out. Freya traumatized her but we didn’t leave a mark.” 

“Good. I’m sure master would praise you.” Aya smiled and giggled. They all loved their master and would do anything for her. 

“Let’s go, Freya! We’re going to cause a big distraction.” Aya announced. 

“That sounds fun.” 

“No killing. Master wouldn’t like it.” 

“Master is too kind, but I won’t hurt anyone for her sake. She’d be upset with me.” The two left the house in their doll forms. They knew people were watching the house and decided to have some fun with them too. They’ll just scare them a little.

The funeral ended an hour later. It was relatively long because of the sheer amount of people that attended. Iemitsu got a call from one of his men. “Yes?” 

“Something has happened, sir! The enemy has infiltrated your house.” 

“What do you mean?” Iemitsu asked. Nana looked at her husband with concern. 

“The babysitter we hired was a spy.” Iemitsu felt his heart drop. He looked at Nana and smiled. 

“Why don’t you go get some groceries for dinner? I think a cake would brighten the day up too. Yona seemed pretty upset.” 

“That sounds like a great idea.” 

“Take your time, Nana. I’ll go home to check up on the kids.” Nana left her husband alone. “Did you take care of her?” Iemitsu asked, walking towards his house. 

“We haven’t been able to. The family she belongs to has been chasing us. We’ve finally found a safe place to rest for a second.” 

“Where’s Lal?” 

“We don’t know.” Iemitsu clicked his tongue. This wasn’t good at all. Tsuna could be severely hurt and Yona was missing. Did they get her to use as blackmail?

“Did anyone get a visual of Tsuna?” 

“He was locked in his room, sir.” 

“And Yona?” There was silence. “What happened to her?” 

“We don’t know. She entered the house and nothing has been seen of her.” Iemitsu started running. How could he allow this to happen? Tsuna could become to next heir to the Vongola. Most importantly, Nana wouldn’t forgive him if he allowed her child to die because of him.

When Iemitsu arrived to the house, his agents were surrounding the place. It didn’t take long for them to take out the enemy. He walked inside and saw the spy tied up with rope. Yona was on the floor with a medic next to her. “What happened to Yona?” 

“Her arm was broken right in half. I’m surprised that woman had that much strength.” 

“Yona has always been a little weaker than kids her age. Can you heal it?” 

“Yes, sir. I made sure the bone is in place and I’m healing it to the best of my abilities. She might have trouble moving her hand for a while.” He looked at Yona’s pain filled face. It hurt seeing her like that despite his dislike towards her. “Where’s Tsuna?” 

“He’s sleeping in bed with a doll.” 

“A doll?” 

“I believe it’s one of Yona’s.” Iemitsu walked up stairs and saw Tsuna was unharmed. He woke up and began to cry. 

“Papa!” He launched himself into Iemitsu’s arms. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“I had a nightmare. Some scary person was hurting Yona.” 

“It’ll be alright, Tsuna. It was just a dream. Yona is just fine. Go back to sleep, okay?” 

“I’m scared.” Tsuna whimpered. 

“Don’t be. If something is scary, just wake up. If you can’t, think of what makes you happy.” Tsuna looked down at the doll next to him and hugged it. “You like Yona’s dolls, huh?” 

“Elf makes me feel safe.” 

“Well, I’m sure Elf won’t mind keeping your nightmares away.” Tsuna nodded before snuggling back into his blankets. 

Iemitsu ordered his men to leave shortly after putting Yona in her bed. Hopefully, she’ll think she had a nightmare like Tsuna. He got a call from Nono. “Sir?” 

“What happened today, Iemitsu?” Nono’s voice was strict and dangerous. 

“I let a spy infiltrate my house, sir.” 

“How did this happen?” 

“I don’t know. The problem is contained. The spy is on her way over for interrogation.” Iemitsu explained. 

“Were any of the children hurt?” 

“Yona’s arm was broken, but Tsuna is just fine.” Nono let out a sigh. 

“You need to think of her as your daughter. She can’t be a second thought for you anymore. She needs the same amount of protection as your son.” 

“Tsuna is more important in the future, Nono. I can’t help but not treat her the same. She’s insignificant in the long run.” Nono couldn’t believe what he just heard. It was cruel for anyone to talk about a child like that. Even Nono protected Xanxus the best he could. 

“You’ll regret those words one day, Iemitsu.” 

“I don’t think I will, Nono.” Iemitsu wanted to tell Nono of his suspicions of Yona being involved in Marco’s death, but he’d just get scolded. He couldn’t see the value of Yona. She wouldn’t be of any use. Plus, she still has the potential to grow into someone like Xanxus and that scared him.

When I woke up, my left arm was aching. I was somehow in bed. Someone must have brought me up. I had to think over what happened. Elf gave me a new arm just in time for the babysitter to come upstairs. Alter and Freya were out creating a distraction. Even Elf was surprised she was up. Nonetheless, I was able to knock her back down the stairs and drag her to the living room without the help of Elf. I grabbed her hair and hit her head against the wall and any sharp corner that was around. I was too angry to care about anything. I guess my arm wasn’t exactly ready to go since it went out of place just from the woman grabbing it to stop me. It hurt worse than anything I’ve felt. Before I passed out, I was able to give her a good kick to the head. I lifted my arm and saw it was in place. It felt a lot stronger. 

“Good afternoon, master.” Elf said. She was on my desk. 

“It’s still afternoon?” 

“It is. The babysitter was taken care of. Iemitsu has a lot of people who work under him. One of them healed your arm just right. They thought it was a broken arm. Do you have any trouble moving your fingers?” I tried moving them, but they hardly budged. “It’ll take time for your body to adjust to the new arm. I made it from cells of your decapitated arm so your body wouldn’t reject it.” Elf explained softly. 

“What about my arm?” I asked. 

“I have it stored safely. Aya froze it in ice to preserve it." 

“Huh, that’s dandy.” 

Apparently, no one noticed anything strange when I went downstairs for dinner. Iemitsu just smiled at me. “How was your nap?” Mama asked. 

“I had a weird dream, but I can’t really remember it. My arm hurts.” 

“You must have slept on it. Come eat, sweetie.” I sat down and dug in. I was thankful I didn’t get my right arm cut off. I’d have a difficult time eating and doing any regular activities otherwise. 

When school started back up, everyone was talking about me. Apparently, Ryo was the one that spread rumors about me. They all saw me as a murderer. Even when we had a group activity in class, everyone refused to work with me. The counselor was even worried about me and even asked if I did push Marco into the car. I learned it didn’t matter what I said. No one would believe me unless I lied and said I pushed him. At home, mama and Iemitsu were watching the television. I went into the living room and blocked their view. “Welcome home, Yona. I didn’t even hear you come in.” 

“I want to be homeschooled.” I announced. The two got serious and sat up. Iemitsu turned the volume down. 

“Why?” He asked. 

“Everyone thinks I’m a murderer. No one will talk to me, no one will work with me, no one will even look at me.” 

“Did you try talking to the teacher?” Mama asked. 

“I’ve tried, but they’re just like my classmates.” 

“Do you think you can do it?” Iemitsu asked. 

“I’m more than positive.” 

“I don’t see any harm in trying, right, Nana?” He said with a smile. It surprised me Iemitsu was willing to let me be homeschooled. 

“I guess so. However, if your grades start slipping, you’ll face severe consequences. Do you understand, young lady?” 

“Yes, mama.” 

“I’ll call for a private tutor immediately.” Mama said happily before going into the kitchen where the phone was. 

“Is school really that hard for you?” Iemitsu asked. 

“I don’t like it when they all stare at me with hate. I didn’t do anything. Sure, I didn’t like Marco, but I would not kill him. I’ve felt like telling everyone I did push him just to make everything stop.” 

“I didn’t realize it was that bad. I’m sorry, Yona.” He apologized for nothing. 

“You never realize a lot of things.” 

“Men are like that.” He said with laughter. I didn’t see what was so funny. 

“I guess there are no differences between a man and a boy.” 

“That’s right!” 

“Why are you so happy about that?” I asked. 

“It’s the truth. You’ll marry someone like me when you’re older.” I looked at him with disgust. 

“I’d rather die alone.” Iemitsu laughed louder. “Don’t laugh at my words, Iemitsu. I didn’t say anything funny.” His laughter died down. 

“Did that get your mind off of everything?” 

I realized he did this on purpose to distract my mind. I had to give props when they were due. I put a hand on my hip and sighed. “I guess you aren’t entirely an idiot like I thought.” I commented. 

“I’m a lot smarter than you think, Yona.” I rolled my eyes. “Hey! Don’t give me that attitude! Do you think I’m not smart?” He asked in a playful tone. There was no malicious intent behind it. I couldn’t help but giggle. 

“Not at all.” 

“I found a program for you, Yona.” Mama said, walking in. 

“That was fast.” Iemitsu commented. 

“Not at all. I called the school and they’re willing to give Yona a personal schedule and a tutor that will come over once a week to go over materials and tests.” 

“That sounds good.” I said with a smile. As long as I didn’t need to go near my classmates, I’d be fine. 

“Your schooling will start next week. The school needs to prepare.” 

“Got it.” 

When the next weeks came, a teacher came over and sat down with me at the kitchen table. I was given a huge binder of work for the rest of my elementary years. Since I wasn’t doing traditional schooling, I had the pleasure of working all year long on the material. It wasn’t bad though. I could work at my own pace. I’d notice how Iemitsu was asking if I needed his help more often. It was annoying, but I knew he was asking out of concern. He was also getting a tad bit kinder to me. After a month of homeschooling, I was getting the hang of how things worked. My tutor was happy with my progress and allowed me a two-week vacation. It was almost Christmas after all. Tsuna, mama, and I decorated the house and even had a small tree in the living room. My most favorite thing was to drink hot chocolate at night with only the tree lights on. Sometimes, I’d even fall asleep on the couch watching tv with Tsuna leaning against me. He was getting more and more excited with each day for Christmas. He’d always be drawing Santa and the things he wanted. I couldn’t blame him for being excited. 

When the day came, I could hear Tsuna screaming about Santa and Christmas. It woke me up mostly because he woke me up himself by jumping onto me. “Yona! Santa came!”

“Did he?” I asked in a groggy voice. 

“Yeah! There’s a lot of presents! Come on!” He pulled me out of bed and ran down the stairs. Being Tsuna, he almost tripped. 

“Be careful, Tsuna. The presents will always be there.” He gave me a smile before walking to the living room. He didn’t lose his grip on my hand. In fact, it got tighter. There were many presents under the tree. Mama and Iemitsu were waiting on the couch with their tea and coffee. Tsuna let go of my hand and ran to the presents. 

“There’s so many!” Tsuna said with shock. Even I was surprised to see that many. How could we even afford all of this? I knew mama didn’t work and Iemitsu was a total mystery. I knew he had men under him, but I didn’t know what he did. 

“Come open presents, Yona. You have things from your grandpa in Italy.” I walked over and sat down next to Tsuna. He was already through a few gifts. He worked fast. Mama pushed a box towards me. I opened it and saw a sewing machine. “I figured you’d like to make clothes for your dolls since you love them so much.” 

“Thank you, mama.” I opened up a few more gifts and found different fabric and sewing supplies. I wonder if the dolls will like new outfits. 

Tsuna mostly got toys and clothing. With each new gift, his face would light up. It was adorable. I wanted to just watch him. Mama poked me with a present to get my attention. I took it and stared at the neatly wrapped small box. I unwrapped it and saw it was a velvet box. 

“Open it, Yona.” Mama said with a smile. I did as she said and saw a necklace. It was a simple silver chain with a long, red, jewel. It was beautiful. “That was your grandma’s. She told me when you were older to give this to you.” 

“And I’m old enough?” I asked. 

“You are. Not just anyone can be homeschooled and still have high marks. Plus, you’ve gotten a lot more mature. It’s why I think you deserve this.” 

“Thank you, mama.” I hugged her tightly before putting the necklace on. It felt warm against my chest. It had to be something related to alchemy. Nothing else had this warmth.

“There’s one more thing, Yona.” Iemitsu said, pushing a gift from behind the tree. 

“What about me?” Tsuna asked. 

“Don’t worry, tuna fish.” Iemitsu took another gift out from behind the tree. “These are from your grandpa.” Tsuna spared no time to open his gift up. Slowly but surely, I opened my gift. 

“Yona! Look what grandpa gave me!” Tsuna said, shaking me. I couldn’t keep my eyes off the huge instrument case in front of me. “Yona?” Tsuna questioned before looking down at my present. 

“What are you waiting for? Open it.” Iemitsu urged. My shaky hands undid the three clasps and opened the case. I inhaled sharply. The bass that laid inside was beautiful. The bass was a beautiful deep color of red with a black fingerboard. I gently picked it up and felt how heavy it was. It was real. “Grandpa went all out and got the top of the line for you.” I ignored Iemitsu and kept my focus on the bass. 

“It looks like she’s in shock, dear.” Mama said quietly. I plucked another string. Both Tsuna and I let out a sound of awe. “We can get Tsuna a guitar and they can start a little band. That’d be cute.”


	6. Intruders

Shortly after Christmas, Iemitsu left for work. He claimed to be working on the oil fields, but I saw through that lie. I would have believed it if I didn’t have Aya and the rest to inform me of everything that’s been said. We stood outside of the house while Iemitsu stood at a car. 

“I’m sorry to leave so soon.” 

“It’s okay. We understand.” Mama said. Tsuna didn’t seem to understand what was going on. He tugged my sweater. 

“Where’s papa going?” 

“He’s going to work for a long time.” I answered softly.

“How long?” Tsuna asked me. 

“I don’t know.” I hoped he’d never come back. We had gotten into another fight recently over dinner and how to set the table correctly. It was a pain. Mama started to tear up. Iemitsu hugged her tightly. He was genuinely going to miss her. Tsuna could read mama’s emotions and started to cry. Iemitsu got down to Tsuna’s level and hugged him. 

“Don’t cry, Tsuna. I’ll be back before you know it.” 

“Okay.” Tsuna said as best as he could. Iemitsu looked at me. 

“Will you protect them, Yona?” 

“I will.” 

“Thank you. Keep your mom and brother happy.” He stood up and gave mama a hug and a kiss before getting in the car. Mama and Tsuna waved as the car left. I just stared with indifference. His presence didn’t mean anything to me. If anything, it meant I could start working on things without worrying about him. With mama and Tsuna, I can explain anything in simple terms and not get caught.

After a month, Tsuna stopped his daily crying about Iemitsu and mama seemed to be back to normal. Though, I could clearly see how miserable she looked in the morning and night. Soon, we were all on a schedule. Tsuna would go to school and I’d get ready to start my day. Mama would make breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day. I was starting to get the hang of the bass and would play constantly in my room from the time I ended lessons to bed time. Freya and Elf seemed to like the sound while Aya was jealous I was spending more time with my bass than her. That’s why I had to give my weekends to the four and practice my alchemy. Even though Alter hasn’t even woken up, I still made sure to make her feel part of us. I desperately tried to wake her every day, but she wouldn’t respond. Elf told me I had to be patient with Alter. She’s supposedly a harsh character who has never woken up for any of their previous masters. Today, I decided to do some experimenting with the noise creatures. They could only be summoned if I drew a specific circle for them. It was too time consuming to summon one of them. If I wanted to summon a few, it’d take minutes. They were meant to be used as weapons. How did other alchemists use them in battle if they took so long to summon?

A week had passed. I was still trying to figure out what I could do about the Noise problem. Aya put the glass tube on my desk with a smile. It was the homing device. 

“What is this for?” I questioned.

“I found it laying around. We wouldn’t want this to be destroyed on accident.” 

“Thank you, Aya.” 

She went back into her doll state. I picked the tube up and hummed. I looked at the incantation engraved onto the tube. The incantation could be roughly translated into origin place. Maybe if I took the same concept and instead put something meaning to burst or release, I could insert the noise inside the glass. That way, I’d just have to break the glass instead of wasting two minutes on one single noise. I took out a book grandma gave me of all the incantations. It took me two whole days to go through and pick out a few incantations. From thousands, I was able to narrow things down to a page full of different incantations. While I wasn’t working on homework or playing the bass, I was figuring out which symbol to use. 

“What are you doing, master?” Elf asked, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. 

“I’m figuring something out.” 

“I can see that. I want to know what you’re trying to figure out.” 

“I’m going to experiment with the noise.” I said, looking at an incantation. Elf hummed with interest. 

“That’s dangerous, master. You could get hurt or someone else hurt.” 

“I can just stop them.” 

“If you’re going to put them into the tube, then you won’t have much control of them.” I stopped what I was doing. 

“You see, master, they have no brain or consciousness. They only thing they have is the want to destroy everything but you.” 

“How can I control them then?” 

“I don’t know. That’ll be something for you to figure out. It’s why none of our other ancestors didn’t do this already. They couldn’t do it and moved on to other things.” I put a hand to my chin. “What are you thinking?” Elf asked. 

“It’s possible. I’m sure of it.” 

“Why do you think so?” Elf snuggled into me. 

“In theory, the solution is easy. There’s a little under a hundred incantations that can be used and that isn’t the hard part.” 

“What’s the hard part?” Elf asked. 

“Trying to keep the noise under some form of control will be the most difficult part.” I hummed. “Would tempering the noise be taboo?” I asked. 

“What do you mean?” Elf sounded genuinely confused. 

“If I changed their command sequencing, I could possibly get them under control to where they can pick out their target.” 

“When it comes to you, nothing is ever taboo. Go ahead and temper with the noise. Temper with the world if you’d like. We’ll always follow you whatever you decide to do.” Elf said, bowing. 

“I know you four will follow me. I’m not worried about that. I just want to do things legally. As long as you say it’s okay, I’ll go ahead with the experiments.” 

I turned back to my work and wanted to pick out a handful of incantations to use. When that was done, I created more glass tubes from sand I recovered from outside. I then engraved the incantations into the glass using careful precision. I used a small machine that looked like as a thick pen. It was actually a laser fueled by alchemy. Grandma taught me how to use it. Once I did that, I then embedded a small summoning circle for the noise inside the tube. Each circle was tempered with in its own way. I wanted to see different results. Instead of putting a large amount of alchemy into the circle, I hardly put any in. This whole process took a month. I knew once I got the formula just right, I could mass produce them with ease. 

“Are they done yet?” Aya asked. 

I turned my chair around and saw the three of them watching over me. “All I need to do is test them.” I yawned. 

“You’ve been working hard, master. You deserve to rest. You need to conserve your energy to deal with the noise if they get loose.” Freya said. 

“That sounds nice. It doesn’t help you three are up in your human form.” They all chuckled. 

“Actually, master, having the three of us like this doesn’t take any energy from you at all. You’ve given us enough power to keep running like this for days.” 

“I’m glad. That means I’m getting better.” I said happily. 

“That does and we’re very proud of you, master.” 

“Thank you. Hopefully, I can awaken Alter soon.” 

“She needs some time to think about waking up.” I looked at Alter who was sitting on the dresser. 

“That’s okay. She can take as much time as she wants. I won’t force her to wake up. If she wants to sleep for eternity, I’ll allow it.” I said. 

“You’re very kind, master.” I shook my head. 

“She deserves to be respected. If you three don’t want to be up all the time, just tell me. I won’t be sad. I know you all can still hear me and that’s enough for me. Though, I’m sure listening to me all the time would drive you crazy. So, just tell me to put you in a quieter place.” Aya threw herself at me and hugged. 

“You’re the kindest master we’ve ever had!” I smiled and rubbed her back. 

“I’m glad you four are under me then. I can’t imagine anyone who’d hurt you four.” Elf gave me a look of mixed feelings. I looked towards Alter. She had no emotion on her face. She just looked like a regular doll. “Even if you are rough around the edges, Alter, I’ll still accept you. I won’t throw you away. Plus, it’s always nice to have someone with your personality around. I need someone like you to make me grow up. My mom can’t be serious or angry to save her life.” 

A week passed. I was in my room gathering all of the tubes I worked on. I was going to a deserted part in town to test the noise. That’s when I heard a loud bang and mama scream. I ran out of my room and saw mama on the ground passed out by the door from the top of the stairs. Two men were inside looking around. They didn’t even see me.

“Tie her up. I heard they have a kid who is homeschooled.” 

“I heard she wasn’t important.” The other said. 

“She isn’t, but she’ll sell well.” My heart dropped. I thought the attacks would stop with Iemitsu gone. Did he not leave us any protection before he left? 

“It’s a perfect time to use your experiments.” I turned and saw Elf. 

“I can’t with mama down there.” 

“I’ll take care of her, okay?” I nodded. 

Once I saw the two men gone, Elf and I went down the stairs. She picked mama up and brought her up the stairs while I threw two of the tubes down. The shattering of the glass got the two men’s attention. They were weary of me. Soon, two Noise were summoned from the alchemic circles. They were a head smaller than me. One didn’t know what to do while the other one attacked its ally. This wasn’t supposed to happen!

“What the hell are those creatures?” 

“Don’t worry. They aren’t attacking us.” The man looked at me with a smirk. “Just come to me, sweetie. I’ll bring you to a good place.” 

“Go to hell.” I broke the rest of the tubes. I didn’t care what they’d do. 

Several were summoned. All but three ran at the men. However, they were easily kicked away. That shouldn’t have happened. They should burn away human flesh. I didn’t even mess with their destructive power in their DNA. All of them ran out of energy and disappeared. My experiments were a complete failure. I took a step back. 

“Now, come with us before we do something bad to you.” One of the men said. “And don’t even think about running. We have you surrounded, little girl. We have many people around your house that’ll kill you. You don’t want to die, right?” I crouched down and took a shard of glass. I cut my finger with it and started to draw a circle onto the floor. I was kicked away before I could complete the circle. I got up and glared at the two. “Don’t look too mad. We’re not doing this for fun. This is just our job.” One of them took a hold of my hair and dragged me into the living room. He threw me onto the ground, next to the other guy. “Check her body for any imperfections.” The man next to me grabbed me.

“What if I find any?” The other asked. 

“Keep her for yourself. I know how you like your women young.” The man holding me down smiled and looked down at me. 

“Let’s hope you have something wrong with you.” I tried to get up, but I was pinned down. 

“Help!” I shouted but was slapped. 

“I don’t like loud noises.” I ignored the warning and shouted for help again. Why weren’t any of the dolls coming to help me? They should be able to hear me. 

I could feel my shirt sliding up and my pants breaking. I was too weak to fight against a man. And with the position I was in, I couldn’t even try to struggle. A cold hand pressed into my stomach. Please. Make this stop. I couldn’t stop my sobbing. I was so powerless. I was going to get myself and mama killed. I felt something warm splatter on me. 

“Don’t touch my master!” An angry, painfilled voice shouted. I opened my eyes with shock. In front of me was Alter in her full glory, bloody sword in hand. The man that was touching me was dead from losing his head. I forced myself to look away. More men ran inside. 

“Alter…?” She didn’t look at me. 

“Who the hell are you?” One man demanded.

“I’m the person who will kill every single one of you!” 

“Quick! Fire!” The man shouted. They all got their guns out. I lifted my hand out just in time to shield me and Alter. Once the bullets stopped, I dropped the shield. 

“You’re not powerless, master. Keep yourself protected. I’ll do all the dirty work.” Alter said in a gentle voice. 

“Be careful.” 

“That’s strange. I haven’t had anyone tell me that before. Thank you, master.” She sped off and instantly killed each one with her sword. It didn’t matter who came in, they all were slaughtered. My eyes were suddenly covered. 

“There’s no need for you to see any more than necessary. You’re still a child.” Elf said. 

“O-okay.” 

Once I was able to see, there wasn’t a bloody mess like I expected. All of the bodies were gone. Alter was in front of me, looking right into my eyes. “Master.” She said. I immediately hugged her. I didn’t care if she didn’t like it. 

“Thank you for saving me, Alter.” 

“It’s my job to take out any and all threats to you. The other idiots are only there to take up space.” I let go and smiled. 

“That dress doesn’t really suit you.” 

“Huh?” The two questioned. 

“I wanted to hear your voice, Alter. I wanted to see if you were really as rough as I was told.” 

“What do you think of me? Disgusted, right?” I shook my head. 

“You’re as rough as expected and that makes me happy. I always thought your dress didn’t suit your personality or that glare you always wear.” 

“I never did like the dress.” Alter said to herself. 

I stood up and allowed Elf to fix my clothing. Aya and Freya ran downstairs. “We’re sorry, master!” The two said in sync. They were bowing by my feet. 

“Why?” 

“Elf told us to not save you. She was pushing Alter to her limits and forced her to wake up.” I looked at Elf. 

“You shouldn’t have done that to Alter.” 

“That bitch is always up to something.” Alter said, glaring at Elf. The two started to bicker. I could see what their relationship was like. They were too sisters always at odds with each other.

“Oh my.” I looked at the open door and saw Kazuma. The four froze and glared. Freya was ready to pounce. She didn’t like him at all. 

“What are you doing here, Kazuma?”

“I heard a loud commotion and came as soon as possible.” 

“There’s no need to lie.” I said. 

“I’m surprised you can see through my lies. Not many can.” The four stayed silent. “I got word those men were here and after your family. I was about to interfere, but I didn’t have to.” He looked at the dolls with curiosity. 

“If you knew she was in danger, why didn’t you do anything to prevent all of this?” Freya asked in a growl. 

“I wanted to see if she’d make another shield or pull off another miracle. I’m sorry about that, Yona.” 

“I can understand your thinking. Now that you’ve seen it, what will you do.” I asked. 

“I’m not sure. Will you or they pose a threat to Namimori?” Alter left my side and tried to kill Kazuma. He luckily jumped out of the way with shock. 

“Don’t kill him, Alter!” 

“Why not? He’s calling you a threat.” 

“He’s just protecting what’s his. He hasn’t tried to harm me even after seeing my power.” Alter let out a sigh. 

“You better thank my master for sparing your life. Know your place, human.” 

“Alter.” I said with a pout. She turned her head with a huff and came back to my side. “Will you have me punished?” I asked him. 

“No. However, I will give you more training.” 

“She’s perfectly fine!” The four shouted. 

“If your master is alone and you four can’t get to her in time, she needs to know how to fight by herself.” 

“I’ll accept that on one condition.” I said. The four beside me were surprised. 

“What condition?” 

“I’m allowed to have one of the dolls with me during training. I’d also like extra protection since our family is specifically targeted.” 

“That’s two conditions, but I can accept both. Come to the house tomorrow. I’ll have snacks and tea waiting.” Kazuma left, closing the door. I could hear mama walking down the stairs. She was never light on her feet. The four turned into dolls. 

“Yona?” 

“Yes?” 

“What happened? I just woke up in bed.” 

“You were sleeping on the couch. I sent you to bed. Don’t worry. I kept an eye on dinner.” She walked over and hugged me. 

“You’re a good girl, Yona. Mama is so proud of you.” 

“You are my mama after all.” She chuckled. 

“Why don’t you go outside and play? It’ll be good for you.” I did just that. I brought the four with me outside. They all sat up. 

“Are you okay with trusting that man?” Alter asked. 

“I am. He’s in charge of the town. What he says goes. If I can get his trust, he’ll be able to let some things I do by.” 

“Like what?” Alter asked. 

“If any of you need any more power, you can take anyone’s memories without any complications with the law. However, I’d only like to see the bad people die.” I explained. 

“So, you’re doing this for us?” Alter asked with hesitation. 

“Of course.” I could see a van driving slowly by the house. I could smell them. “Alter, make it look like an accident.” 

“Anything for you, master.” She ran off still in her doll form. We couldn’t see anything that was happening, but we did hear a big crash. She came back after a couple of minutes. “All threats are taken care of.” 

“Wonderful work, Alter.” 

“It’s my job to take care of all that tries to harm you.” 

“I’m glad.” 

“Your experiments failed.” Elf brought up the subject. I took one single glass tube out from my pocket. I forgot to break this one. 

“There’s still one left.” 

“You have nothing left to lose. Break it!” Aya urged excitedly. I threw it onto the ground. A small Noise was summoned. It looked everywhere and then turned to me. It just stood there. 

“Can you wave to me?” I asked. Surprisingly, the Noise raised its hand and waved it. “Run in a circle.” It did as I told it. Like a puppy, it came back to my side. “I did it!” 

“I did it!” “You did it!” All but Alter shouted. I started to jog in place. I couldn’t contain my excitement. Even the four were so excited. The noise didn’t know what to do, so it started to copy me. It was cute. I stopped and smiled widely at my creation. “That’s all I have for now. Thank you.” It made a strange noise before destroying itself. 

“I can’t believe you did it! None of our previous masters have ever done so!” Aya said. 

“I finally got the formula down after hundreds of hypotheses. Now, all I need to do is mass produce them and keep them on hand. I’ll power some up where they’ll be the size of skyscrapers! Nothing will stop me!” Elf and Freya started laughing. 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, master. You’ll hurt a lot of people that way.” 

“Oh. Well, I won’t have them that big. I do want to try though. I think that’d be fun.” 

“Don’t be serious. You’d collapse from the energy it’d take out of you. Don’t even try it!” Alter scolded. 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“I hope you remembered which formula that was.” Elf said. I got quiet and started to think. I didn’t even number any of them. I just collected them and broke them to kill the intruders. I wasn’t thinking.

“Master?” 

“She forgot which formula was the one that worked.” Elf said with an amused chuckle. 

“Take a break before going back to work. It won’t take a big toll on you that way.” 

“T-thank you, Freya.” 

“Yona, your brother just came home. Can you help him with his homework?” Mama asked from the kitchen. 

“Okay!”


	7. New Friends

For the next couple of months, Kazuma has been training me. It’s extremely tiring, but I had to do it to protect myself. Kyoya would help me on most days by either sparring with me or giving me pointers. I was nowhere near his strength, but Kazuma said Hibari are naturally stronger than everyone. Iemitsu hasn’t come home yet and it’s been bothering mama. He sends letters and gifts as if that will appease us. At least I was able to complete my noise project. Iemitsu being gone was a blessing in disguise. I showed Kazuma the noise one day after training. 

“What exactly is this?” He asked. The noise looked up at Kazuma. 

“They’re weapons.” 

“How?” 

“They incinerate anything they touch. Essentially, their target will turn into dust.” 

“Even people?” 

“Especially people. I perfected the formula to have them completely under my control. They’ll attack or stop when I command them to.” I said proudly. 

“If I touch it, will it kill me?” 

“Yes.” 

“You can’t stop it?” 

“It’s something irreversible. Please don’t try to touch them. Even I can’t touch them and I’m their creator.” Kazuma hummed and stroked his chin. 

“If I use one of your tubes, will they listen to me?” 

“I’m not too sure, but I think they’ll just stand there waiting for my direction.” The noise turned to me. “You can go now. Thank you.” It made a chirping noise before destroying itself. 

“How do you make them?” Kazuma asked. I went outside and brought in a handful of sand. I pressed my hands together and forged the formula onto them. When I opened my hands, four new tubes were in my hands. 

“You made them out of sand?” 

“I did. I can do anything.” I said proudly.

“Can you turn lead into gold?” 

“I can turn anything into gold if I wish it.” 

“You really are a miracle maker.” I shook my head. 

“I don’t make miracles. I use alchemy.” 

“What about a philosopher’s stone?” 

“That requires a lot of work. Do you want one?” I asked. 

“I heard it could grant immortality.” 

“Not really. It prolongs life to an extent, but it’s more likely used to create a weapon.” This got Kazuma’s attention. 

“A weapon?” 

“Depending on how many sacrifices are made, the stone will be more powerful.” 

“And would someone like me be able to use that weapon?” 

“I don’t know. I’d be able to use it or those who come from alchemic blood lines would be able to. Tsuna and mama would be able to, but it wouldn’t be at full power.” 

“And that would be because their blood is weak?” 

“That’s right. So far, I’m the only alchemist in Japan. I’m sure there are more around the world. Grandma said something about our blood containing the origin.” 

“What’s that?” Kazuma asked. 

“The origin is where alchemy was first created. My ancestor was the first alchemist known to the world.” 

“You’re rather important, little alchemist.” 

“I guess I am. The dolls were made by my ancestor to protect their master whenever they were passed down to each generation.” 

“Did your mother have them?” 

“No. Grandma said something about mama having no alchemic ability. It was all passed down to me, including my ancestor herself. Her soul is passed down so she may one day rise.” I explained sadly. I didn’t like it one bit. I didn’t want to get taken over by my ancestor. 

“Yona.” 

“Yes?” I looked up at Kazuma. 

“You’ll be fine. In fact, I’m sure you’ll surpass all your ancestors. You’re a bright child that can do the impossible. You’re able to do things not even your ancestors could, right? You could always fight against it. You’ll stay you as long as you stay strong in body and mind.” He said, knowing I was down about my predicament.

“You think so?” I questioned. 

“I’m not sure, but it’s worth a try.” Somehow, his words made me feel better. Even if he didn’t really get what we talked about, he was good at making my worries disappear. “Now, you need to go home. Your mother will worry. Kyoya, walk Yona home.” Kyoya walked into the room and nodded. Kyoya had to hold my hand the entire way since his father requested him to. It was cute.

A whole year has gone by since Iemitsu left. He still hasn’t come back. Mama was sighing more and more lately. My studies were the same, but I was interested in going to middle school instead of continuing my home schooling. The bass was becoming something I was getting good at. I just didn’t have an amp to use. So, I’d go to a local live house to rent a room out to use their equipment. Mama didn’t mind paying for it since I got a discount. I’ve been going there for a couple of months. Today, I went in to book a room after my studies were completed. 

“Good afternoon, Yona. Here to rent a room?” Karin asked. She was the one in charge and the owner’s daughter. 

“Yes!” She looked through the computer. 

“I’m sorry. They’re all booked. You can stick around and wait at the café outside until one is open.” 

“That sounds good to me. Iced tea sounds good.” That’s when we heard a commotion. A guy stomped out of one of the rooms. It ended up making a big scene. 

“I can’t take it anymore! You’re all insane!” Five people walked out and looked at the guy. 

“C’mon, just stay. Kei didn’t mean it.” A girl said. 

“I meant it all. You’re a third-class player, one of the worst.” Kei said as a matter of fact. He was rather blunt.

“Kei!” 

“See? All you think is about your own future without considering anyone’s feelings.” The man said, pointing at Kei. 

“And?” 

“Let’s just talk it out.” Another girl said. 

“It’s no use, Sayo.” A guy said. 

“Fine. We can talk it out, but I’m not going to accept anything.” 

“Good. We’ll have a twenty-minute break then.” The girl said. 

“Um, excuse me.” They looked at Karin. 

“Could you all keep it quiet? Also, while you aren’t in the room, would you mind letting this girl go practice in your room?” The group looked at me. 

“She’s so cute.” Sayo said with stars in her eyes. Kei looked at me with cold eyes.

“How old are you?” 

“Twelve.” 

“What instrument do you play?” 

“Bass.” 

“Who’s your instructor?” 

“Myself.” 

“Super cute.” Sayo whined. 

“Just let her practice. She seems nice. I doubt she’d do anything.” The guy beside Sayo said. Kei shrugged his shoulders. 

“Don’t damage our instruments. They’re very expensive and I doubt your parents will be able to pay for damages.” 

“I won’t damage them.” I walked into their room and sat my things down in the corner. 

I didn’t really care about their drama. I just wanted to play. I got my bass out and plugged it into an amp. I started my exercises and then worked on a couple of techniques I wrote down in a notebook of mine. I spent most of my free time watching concerts over and over to see how the bassist would play. I even went through all the lesson books available in the library. After ten minutes of practicing, two of the members walked in. I stopped and looked at them.

“Don’t mind us. Go ahead and keep practicing.” Sayo said. 

“Okay.” They sat on the couch and watched me. I didn’t mind, but it did make me a little self-conscious. 

“What song are you playing?” The guy asked me. 

“I’m practicing techniques.” 

“Really? It sounds like a line from a song.” 

“Have you played with others before?” Sayo asked. 

“No.” She jumped up excitedly and sat at the drums. 

“Aki, join me.” 

“What are you up to?” He questioned wearily.

“Let’s play together! You too!” She said in my direction. 

“I’m sorry about her. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. Sayo is pushy.” 

“I don’t mind.” I said a little excited myself.

“You should stand up. A true bassist stands.” I stood up. Aki walked to the keyboard. I was nervous. 

“Go ahead and start. We’ll keep up.” Sayo said. 

“C-can you two start? I’ve never done something like this before.” 

“Sure!” 

The two started playing as if it was natural. It wasn’t awkward. I looked at one of the music stands and saw they were following the general melody and rhythm of it. It must have been a song they were working on. The sheet music had guitar tabs, but it was enough for me to get the rhythm of the song somewhat down. I soon clumsily joined in half-way through. The notes I played were the same I heard from the piano. I used that so it wouldn’t sound weird when I joined. When we stopped playing, a girl walked into the room. 

“So, this is what you’re all up to.” She said with a warm smile. 

“You did such a good job, kid! And that was your first time playing with people?” Sayo asked. 

“It was.” 

“You didn’t even have sheet music and yet you were able to keep up.” Aki observed. 

“I heard the notes your left hand was playing and recognized them. I saw the guitar tabs and used the rhythm as a guide.” I explained. The girl came up to me and held my shoulders. 

“You did all of that?” She seemed surprised.

“Yes.” 

“You’re going to scare the girl, Yukine.” Aki said. 

“I’m sorry, kid. You just surprised me. Not many can do that.” 

“Oh. I…thought that would be the logical thing to do.” 

“By the way, what’s your name? We can’t keep calling you kid.” Yukine said. 

“Yona.” 

“You’re super adorable! I want to keep you!” Sayo exclaimed. Yukine handed me a sheet with bass notes. 

“Let’s go from the top. This time, you’ll be prepared. Can you read the notes?” I nodded and put the paper on the stand as Yukine picked up her guitar. 

I scanned over the lines. It wasn’t too terrible, but still had its difficulty. So, I decided to play a simplified version of the piece. The piano started like last time. The rest of us came in at the same time. The lyrics were written on my page. I was quietly humming to myself, imagining what the full song would sound like. Yukine started singing which surprised me. She looked at me and winked. She heard me humming. Kei walked in and watched from the doorway. When we finished, Kei walked towards us. He looked directly at me with narrowed, intense eyes. 

“You have talent.” 

“Thank you?” 

“But if you’re going to sing, you need to be louder. I couldn’t hear you.” 

“Huh?! I didn’t mean to sing at all.” I said nervously. He walked to his spot between me and Yukine and picked up his guitar. 

“From the top.” He looked at me. “And you sing louder. You’re the main vocalist.”

“Isn’t that a little cruel, Kei?” Yukine asked. 

“No.” He turned on the microphone in front of me.

“Will you be fine, Yona?” Sayo asked. 

“I’ll be fine, I think. I’m sort of comfortable with what’s going on with the music.” It was the truth. The music wasn’t too difficult and I could even incorporate sliding up and down the neck of the bass with no trouble.

“Good. From the start.” Kei demanded. 

When the piano music played, I became nervous. Then, I remembered I didn’t have a reason to be nervous. It’s not like this is an evaluation. They’re not even professionals themselves. Plus, this would be the only time I’d see them like this. I took a deep breath and sang the first line into the microphone in front of me. Yukine and Kei joined in during some parts. Overall, I was just okay. It wasn’t the best singing in the world, but it was good for not practicing in a long time and warming up. I could notice Kei looking at me a few times. When we stopped, I felt magical. My hands were shaking. It was weird.

“Your voice is deep for your age!” Sayo said. 

“I guess so?” I replied. 

“She’s right. I haven’t heard a kid have such a deep singing voice. Usually, they’re all squeaky.” Yukine replied. 

“I wouldn’t know.” 

“Why not? Don’t you sing in the choir in school? That’s usually required.” Aki said. 

“I’m home schooled. It’s why I’ve been able to spend a lot of time practicing.” 

“How long do you practice?” Kei asked. “I practice four hours every weekday. The weekends are for martial arts but I still manage to practice the bass for a little.” 

“I’m sure you’ll have time for us then.” I tilted my head not knowing what he meant. The three behind him let out surprised gasps. “I’m going to run a month-long trial for you. If you can meet my expectations, I’ll let you be part of this band.” 

“Why?” I asked. 

“You have promise and talent. I want to see how much you can grow from my instruction.” 

I never thought I’d actually be in a band. Though, it didn’t seem like a bad idea. In fact, it sounded exciting. “O-okay.” 

“For your first task, I want you to create the bass part for a song. I’ll have our manager send it to you.” They had a manager already? Isn’t that only for professional bands?

“That isn’t even a little too much, Kei. Are you sure you want to do that to her? You’ll scare her off.” Sayo asked. He ignored her and kept staring at me. 

“You have a week.” 

“That doesn’t seem too bad.” I commented. 

“We practice every day but the weekends at the same time. If you happen to finish earlier, you can come here.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Good. I expect a lot out of you. Do not disappoint.” 

“I’ll do my best.” Kei then called off practice. 

I went to the café outside to get iced tea. I needed to ground myself after what happened. I wondered where that other girl went. She was with them when they initially left the room but then disappeared. Yukine approached me with ice cream. “Good playing today, Yona.” 

“Thank you.” 

“Don’t worry about meeting Kei’s expectation. Only he can do that.” 

“He seems like a perfectionist because he wants to be the best.” I explained before sipping on the iced drink. 

“That’s about right. His parents were musicians before they retired. So, he has a lot riding on his shoulders.” 

“I see.” 

“Do you have a phone or an email I can use to contact you?” 

“No. I have a house phone.” 

“This is going to a little difficult.” She muttered before digging out an mp3 player with headphones. “Here. Listen to the song that Kei wants you to finish.” 

While listening, I closed my eyes and focused. There were a lot of bare spots and some where they were clashing together. It didn’t fit right together. I took the headphones out. 

“Well?” 

“It sucks.” She looked at me with disbelief before laughing. 

“I-I’m sorry for laughing, Yona. That’s the first time anyone has told us that. Even with incomplete songs like this, people still compliment us.” 

“It clashes too much to make up for the lack of bass.” 

“I guess you’ll have to rearrange it then. I’ll get you the entire score so you can see everyone’s part. You probably won’t be able to actually rearrange everything, but you can circle things where they clash and write notes on what to do. I’ll help with the rest. I’m pretty good when it comes to this stuff.” 

“That sounds like a plan.” 

“Well, I need to get home. Do you want me to walk you home?” 

“I’ll be fine. Have a safe trip back, Yukine.” She smiled brightly. 

“You too, Yona.” 

After I finished my tea, I went home with exciting news. I could hardly keep my excitement inside. “My, someone’s excited.” Mama said. She was putting dinner on the table. 

“I’m in a band.” 

“Really?! That’s amazing, Yona!” 

“I’m in a trial period, though. They need to see if I’m actually good and can meet expectations.” 

“I’m sure you’ll do just fine. Come eat. I heard that stomach of yours a mile away.” 

The next day, I met Yukine at the live house. It was just the two of us since it was a weekend. Kazuma wasn’t too happy I was skipping out on practice, but he praised me for making friends for the first time. Yukine had a small booklet. We went inside one of the rooms to practice. She played the music while we followed the score. I marked the entire score up. 

“I wouldn’t have imagined you heard so many things wrong.” 

“The circles are clashes, the squares are empty places, and the triangles are where things are just weird and I don’t know what’s wrong.” 

“I see.” She wrote down what the symbols meant at the top. “Let’s get started working on this.” Two hours have passed and we figured out the first three lines. Karin came in with two iced teas and snacks. 

“Going without breaks aren’t good. They’re on the house.” Our eyes sparkled. 

“Thank you!” We said. 

“You’re welcome, girls.” We immediately started to snack on the small crackers and cookies. 

“I didn’t realize we were here so long.” Yukine said. 

“We did get through some kinks.” 

“We made progress and that’s all that matters. Do you mind if I record your bass part? I’ll have everyone else play the fixed version and mix the two together. I can’t wait to hear what it sounds like with everyone.” 

Kei Nakamura was a genius born from two very successful musicians that toured the world. He had his father’s silver hair and his mother’s golden eyes. He wanted to one day be at the same level as them. However, finding bandmates would be difficult. No one would be up to his standards. He practiced with what seemed hundreds of people and they were all terrible. Were his expectations too high? That’s when he found Yukine and Aki. They’re two childhood friends that seemed to be more experienced than everyone Kei has heard. Yukine had medium length dark blue hair and green eyes. Aki had straight black hair that spiked at the end with purple eyes. They seemed to be in sync which showed how much they’ve practiced. So, Kei asked if they wanted to join him and they agreed. Soon, Kei had a guitarist and a keyboardist on board. A couple days later, he met the eccentric Sayo. She had long blond hair in pigtails and blue eyes. She was American but had lived in Japan her whole life. Despite her personality not meshing well with Kei, her playing did. She was just as passionate as everyone. Finding a bassist was the most difficult part. No one was up to their standards. Most would leave after a single practice saying they’re too intense. 

That’s when he heard Yona practicing with the rest of his band. At first, she didn’t seem like much other than an amateur bassist. However, she was able to keep up despite not having sheet music or hearing the song before. After Yukine played with then, Kei wanted to test Yona one more time by joining them. This would be the real test. His presence was more extreme than some professionals and always intimidated people. Yona didn’t seem to care. She was more nervous about singing despite having a nice tone and a pleasing to hear voice. Though, her bass was solid. She had decided on what she’d play and stuck to it. Kei couldn’t understand how someone self-taught could be this skilled. Her technique was a little weird, but it was to be expected. Seeing her shake after the song confirmed Kei’s suspicion. She was in sync with them, personality and playing wise. After Yona left, Yukine nudged him. 

“You liked her.” 

“She’s interesting.” 

“Interesting? She’s adorable and good! You have to let her join.” Sayo said excitedly. 

“You’re just testing her to see if she can handle things.” Aki said, packing his things. 

“And if I am?” 

“I have a feeling she’ll be just fine and crush those expectations despite you giving her the most jumbled up song we made.” Yukine teased. 

“Why do you think so?” 

“Women’s intuition.”

Kei saw how Yukine would get antsier the closer Yona’s deadline came. She was hiding something from everyone and Kei didn’t like it. “So, Yukine, how has Yona been doing?” Sayo asked. 

“You’ll see Monday.” That’s all Yukine said before leaving. 

When Monday came, Yukine and Yona met outside the live house. The rest were watching from a window from the inside. Kei saw Yona hand papers over to Yukine. Was that sheet music? The two walked towards the building which signaled the rest to hurry up into the practice room. The two walked in. 

“Are you prepared?” Kei asked Yona. 

“I am.” She replied with a bright smile. Sayo almost died from how adorable Yona was. Yukine handed out sheet music to everyone. 

“New music?” Kei questioned. 

“Yona didn’t like the original and basically rearranged everything herself.” 

“You helped me with most of it. I only told you where things were clashing.” Yona chimed in with a pink color on her cheeks. Kei looked at his sheet and saw it was less difficult than his original. Sayo ran to the drum set and readied herself. Aki went to his keyboard while Yukine took her guitar out. Yona took her red bass out. She seemed very confident. No bass player before ever had that confidence when playing with him.

“What are you waiting for, Kei? Let’s try it out. Trust Yona. She put her heart in it.” Yukine said from her usual spot. 

“Okay.”


	8. Decision

Kei put his trust in me to make a bass part for their song. That ended up becoming a whole new song on accident. I trusted Yukine that the recordings sounded good. While waiting for Kei to get ready, I was nervous but excited. I haven’t felt like this before but I welcomed the feeling. Yukine winked at me. Once Kei got between us in the front, we all hesitated. Sayo hit her sticks together to count us in. There was no going back now. We all started playing. It was a much better composition that had a lot more harmony. When we finished, Sayo was the first to say anything. 

“Woah! I never knew our song could sound like that.” She said with shock. 

“It wasn’t just the bass that added something either. What did you do, Yona?” Aki asked. 

“I simplified a lot of the complicated rhythms as much as possible and had Yukine rewrite a few parts.” I explained. 

“Why did you give Yukine lead guitar instead of me?” Kei asked. He seemed upset. 

“You should concentrate on singing and stage presence instead of the guitar. You’re the main focus. If you accidentally mess up or get tired, the audience will be able to tell. If you want to be the best, you need to allow everyone else to help. You can’t take all the main roles upon yourself. That’s a recipe for disaster.” 

“How are you sure?” 

“I’ve watched a lot of concerts and analyzed them. The groups where the lead vocalist is also the lead instrument never performed as well as other bands who let others take control. Everyone’s eyes will still be on you unless it’s one of our solos.” I explained with certainty. Everyone looked at Kei for his reaction. I was expecting him to blow up since Yukine did warn me he might do that. However, he started to chuckle. 

“He broke!” Sayo exclaimed. 

“Are you alright?” Yukine asked him. 

“No one has the balls you do, Yona.” Kei said. 

“Excuse me?” 

“Most would have a hard time creating a bass line for the song and those that do can’t create anything worth listening to. You, on the other hand, decided to also take apart a song I worked on for so long and turned it into something else.” 

“Don’t do anything too harsh, Kei.” Yukine warned. I smiled. 

“It’s alright, Yukine. He’s just in shock.” 

“Say something, Kei.” Aki said from the keyboard. 

“I can’t help but laugh. I never expected a mere child to complete such a feat. I feel ashamed that I love the arrangement that isn’t even mine.” 

“Do I pass?” I asked, ignoring him. 

“Do you not care what I said?” Kei asked me. 

“I heard you loved my arrangement. The rest didn’t register.” 

“You really are strange, Yona.” 

“I’m guessing I passed?” He nodded. “What’s the next task?” I asked. 

“There is none. You’re more than qualified to be part of the band.” 

Yukine and Sayo ran over and hugged me. “This is the best day ever!” Sayo cheered. 

“It’s good to have you aboard, Yona. We’ll have so much fun.” Yukine reassured me. 

“I can’t wait.” 

“Let’s go out to eat to celebrate. Kei, you should invite your sister. She’s also part of the band.” Aki said. 

“I’ll do that.” I wondered if that girl from before was Kei’s sister. 

“Hurry up and pack up, Yona. I’m hungry.” Sayo whined. 

“Okay.” We all packed up our belongings up and left the room. 

“Today’s rehearsal was short. Did something happen?” Karin asked Kei. 

“We’re celebrating with lunch. Yona here got Kei’s approval to be in the band.” Yukine explained. Karin gasped with wide eyes. She then smiled brightly. 

“I’m so proud of you, Yona.” 

“Thank you.” Kei paid and then we split up. Yukine and Sayo brought me to the local diner. Kei and Aki were going to pick Kei’s sister up. We were handed menus. 

“Don’t worry about the price. We’ll cover it.” Yukine said. 

“Are you sure?” I asked. 

“We’re sure. We have more than enough money.” 

“Are you sure?” They looked confused. 

“Do you not know what school we go to?” Sayo asked. 

“No.” 

“We go to the private academy that has a focus on the arts. Most of the kids that attend come from rich families.” Yukine explained. 

“I didn’t know there was a private academy like that.” 

“You should attend. With your talent, they’ll wave the tuition fee.” Sayo said. 

“I don’t think they’ll do that. I come from a regular family. The fees would be too much for my mom.” 

“What does she do for work?” Yukine asked. 

“She’s a stay at home mom that takes care of me and my brother. Her husband works on the oil fields overseas.” 

“So, you’re from another marriage?” Sayo asked with shock. 

“It’s something like that.” 

“Do you not like him?” 

“I hate his existence, but mom loves him and he hasn’t hurt her.” The two looked like they understood my background and didn’t ask any more questions about home. 

“You never know, you might get an invitation to take their entrance test.” Yukine said brightly. 

“It’d be nice. I was thinking about going to a middle school instead of studying at home.” 

“We’re here.” Aki said. We looked and saw him with Kei and a girl around my age with long silver hair and gold eyes. 

“This her?” The girl asked. 

“Ayumu, this is Yona. Yona, this is my sister Ayumu.” I stood and gave a small bow. 

“It’s nice to meet your acquaintance.” 

“At least she knows her manners.” She sat beside Yukine. Aki and Kei sat next to me. “So, my brother tells me you have talent with the bass. Do you think you can keep up with us?” 

“I think so.” I replied. 

“Thinking won’t get you far. You’ll quit when things get serious. They all do.” She said with a snarl. She definitely wasn’t friendly. I wonder if that was just her personality. A waitress came by to take our orders. I ordered a small fry and iced tea. 

“You can get more, Yona.” Yukine said. 

“I’ll be fine.” Ayumu gave me a look. Was it because I ordered too little while everyone else got full meals? When we got our food, I ate mine slowly so I wouldn’t awkwardly be waiting for everyone to finish. “What instrument do you play, Ayumu?” I wanted to make small talk with her. 

“I’m the DJ but I can play any other instrument.” 

“Why haven’t you been the bassist?” I asked. 

“I don’t like it.” 

“Oh.” 

“And don’t call me by my name. Address me by Nakamura.” 

“Okay.” 

“Don’t be mean, Ayumu. Yona is part of this band like you.” Sayo said. 

“It’s okay. If that’s what she wants me to call her by, I won’t have a problem in calling her that.” I spoke gently. I honestly was fine with calling her Nakamura. It wasn’t like we were friends. It’d be rude to immediately call her by her first name. 

“You’re a doormat.” Ayumu said in a matter of fact tone. 

“I’m not, Nakamura.” Her eyes narrowed. 

“I don’t like her. Kick her out, brother.” 

“I’m not letting a good bassist go to waste.” Kei said. Ayumu huffed and puffed quietly the rest of the time we were eating. When we were all finished, I paid for my meal with the little money I had. Yukine gave me a look but I ignored it. 

“Well, our homes are this way.” 

“Peace.” Aki and Sayo left. A car pulled up. 

“This is our ride home. Do you want a ride home, Yukine?” Kei asked. 

“No thanks. I’m going to walk Yona home.” 

“Have a good night. I’ll see you two tomorrow.” 

Once they left, we started walking towards my house. “Don’t worry about what Ayumu said. That’s just how she is.” 

“I can tell. She seems like a stuck-up princess.” Yukine started to laugh. 

“That’s about right. Once you get to know her, she isn’t too bad.” 

“I don’t know if she’ll let me get to know her.”

“Just don’t take anything she says to heart.” 

“I won’t.” We stopped outside a house. 

“This is my stop. Do you need me to walk you the rest of the way home?” 

“I’ll be fine.” The door opened and Yukine’s mom greeted us. 

“There you are. We were getting worried.” She looked at me. “Who is this?” 

“This is Yona. She’s our new bassist.” 

“She got Kei’s approval?” 

“She did with flying colors. She rearranged that disaster of a song we made.” Yukine said. Her mother looked at me with shock. 

“You must have studied for many years.” 

“Actually, she only started playing bass over a year ago. She’s self-taught.” 

“That’s shocking. You must be a little genius.” 

“I just commented on what sounded off and then Yukine did the rest. I didn’t do anything that extravagant.” I defended myself. 

“Shut up, Yona. You did just as much work as me.” Yukine playfully hit me. “Take the compliment dammit!”

Her mom started to laugh. “I’m sure you did your fair share. Would you like to come in for some tea?” She asked me. 

“No thank you. I need to get home for dinner. Thank you for the invite.” I gave a small bow. “Have a good night, Yukine.” 

“You too, Yona. Don’t forget to be at the live house tomorrow.” 

“I won’t.” 

I went on my way. Unfortunately, I was being followed. I wondered if it was one of Iemitsu’s enemies or one of his men. It was hard to tell. Either way, an enemy is an enemy. I didn’t have one of the dolls with me. So, I picked up a pebble and created a glass tube containing the noise. I could smell how intoxicating they were. I stopped walking and turned around. A car was following me. A group of men walked out. 

“Come with us, Sawada.” 

“I’m sorry, but you have the wrong person. I’m not a Sawada.” They looked genuinely confused. 

“Either way, come with us.” 

“Who are you people?” 

“We’re friends of your father.” 

“I don’t have a father. Like I said, you have the wrong person.” I turned my back on them and continued to walk. 

“Go any further and we’ll kill you.” I looked back and saw them all with their guns drawn. My heart started to race. I couldn’t show them I was panicking.

“Are you sure that’s wise to point your weapons at me?” They didn’t answer. 

At least I’d be able to see just how destructive the noise are. I tossed the glass. Once it touched the ground, it broke and showed an alchemic circle. The men looked at the large human-sized noise with fear. 

“What the hell is that thing?!” 

“Go.” I commanded. The noise ran at them. It latched onto one of the men. It was the first time seeing someone die like this. The man’s body started to turn black from where the noise touched him. When he was completely covered, his body turned to ash. 

“Shoot him!” 

The bullets didn’t harm the noise or stop it from killing the rest. One of the men aimed at me. I put up my hand and made a shield before I could get hurt. Alchemy is stronger than any modern-day technology. Once the men were all killed, the noise dissipated. I turned and saw Kazuma. 

“I’ll take care of this.” He said. 

“You’re not mad?” 

“No. You may kill them if they attack you. Just tell me if there’s any evidence left and I’ll take care of it.” 

“Thank you, Kazuma.” 

“I’m glad I listened to you. I would have ended up like that.” 

“I didn’t know until now how it’d look like. Grandma told me once they touch you, you’re already dead. I don’t think she used them before which is why she herself didn’t explain how it looked. Anyway, I need to get home. I’m tired.” 

“Go get some rest, Yona. You’ll be a lot busier with your finals and entrance exams.” 

“There’s no need to remind me. Have a good night, Kazuma.”

After a week, finals were here. That meant my tutor would come and watch me take all of my tests. When I finished, he graded everything right in front of me. I got almost perfect scores which made mama really happy. She was celebrating in the living room while we were in the kitchen. The rule was it had to be me and the instructor in the kitchen. No one else could be in the room. 

“Have you been thinking about which middle school to go to?” The instructor asked. 

“Sort of. I’m thinking of actually going to school, but I don’t know which one.” 

“Well, there are many in the area that you are more than capable of going to. I’ll send over a few packets and when you pick which one, I’ll help you with preparing.” 

“Thank you.” He left. Mama ran in and hugged me. 

“Congrats, Yona!” 

“Thank you, mama.” 

“How about we go get some cake to celebrate?” 

“Yeah!” The two of us left. Tsuna would be home in two hours. It gave us enough time to get cake and come back. When we got to the cake shop, I saw Yukine and Aki. 

“Pick whatever one you want, sweetie.” Mama said. 

“Okay.” The two turned around. 

“Yona?” The two questioned. 

“Hello.” They walked to me. 

“What are you doing here?” 

“We’re celebrating. I just took all of my finals.” I said happily. 

“How did you do?” Aki asked. 

“I either got perfect scores or a few points away from a perfect score.” They whistled. 

“That’s impressive.”

Mama nudged me. “Oh. Mama, these are two of my friends and bandmates, Aki and Yukine. Guys, this is my mom.” 

“It’s nice to meet you ma’am.” Aki said with a bow. 

“No wonder Yona is so pretty. She had to have gotten it from you.” Yukine said. 

“It’s nice to meet Yona’s friends. She talks about everyone nonstop.” My cheeks turned pink. I pinched mama’s arm. 

“You like us that much?” Yukine teased. 

“She does. You’re her first friend after all.” That took the two by surprise. I didn’t want them to know they were my first friend. It’s too embarrassing. 

“Sayo would be screeching if she saw you right now. Hold still.” Yukine took a picture of me. “And send.” 

“If you send that to Sayo, she’ll run as fast as she can to come over.” I said. 

“Yona!” Sayo shouted as she busted through the door. 

“How did she get here so fast?!” I said with shock. Sayo ran to me and hugged me, lifting me off the ground. I only grunted in response. 

“Your reactions are the cutest.” 

“Were you in the area?” Aki asked. 

“Yeah! I was down the street when God gave me a gift today!” 

“I never knew I was God.” Yukine joked. Sayo saw mama and dropped me. 

“I’m Sayo. I’m the best drummer ever and I want Yona to live with me forever.” 

“It’s nice to meet you. Yona, you can play with your friends. I’ll order cake and bring it home. We can celebrate with Tsuna.” 

“Okay.” When mama went to order a cake, Yukine pouted at me and pinched my cheeks. “W-why are you doing this to me?” 

“I felt like it.” 

“So mean.” I whined, holding my cheeks. 

“Who’s Tsuna?” Sayo asked. 

“That’s my little brother.” Sayo froze in her place. 

“T-there’s another you?!” 

“Yes.” 

“I want to meet him.” 

“You’ll scare him. He’s really timid and gets scared by the wind. You’ll make him pass out.” 

“I’ll have to hold myself back in order to meet him.” She spoke in a serious matter.

“Are you two done?” A man asked. We looked and saw two men in suits. They looked at Yukine and Aki and then me. They were intimidating, but it wasn’t as bad as Kazuma. 

“Dad, I want you to meet out bassist. This is Yona.” Yukine said. I gave a small bow. 

“It’s nice to make your acquaintance.” He just stared at me with cold eyes. 

“Likewise.” Mama walked back over. 

“Yona, they have the lemon and lavender cake here. Do you want that or the chocolate and orange cake?” Mama asked me. The men looked at her. 

“Lemon and lavender.” 

“My little girl is so sophisticated.” 

“Nana?” One of the men questioned. She looked up at him and gasped. 

“Ryoma?” 

“Your mom knows my dad?” Aki asked me. 

“Why are you asking me? I’ve never seen him until now.” I said. Aki’s dad had black hair like him that was slicked back with facial hair on his chin. 

“I haven’t seen you since I graduated from high school. How have you been?” Ryoma asked mama. 

“I’ve been well. I’m happily married with two kids. Yona is my eldest.”

“I should have known. She has your beautiful eyes.” Mama chuckled and turned her body a little bit. 

“How are you doing?” She asked. 

“I’ve been doing well. I’m running the largest bank in the prefecture. Aki is my only son. You should come over to visit so we can catch up.” My eyes narrowed. Yukine’s dad saw. 

“I’m too busy to visit.” I walked over and started pushing her. 

“Go get the cake, mama. The fresher it is, the better it is.” 

“Okay!” She went back in line. I looked up at Ryoma with a dangerous glare. 

“Don’t flirt with her.” I said. 

“It was all in good fun.” I scoffed and put my hand on my hip. 

“I know bullshit when I see it. You couldn’t even see she was uncomfortable. I don’t care if you went to school with her. Do not talk to my mother like that.” 

“Dad.” Aki said with an unamused voice. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think that would bother you.” 

“I wonder how many other women you’ve made uncomfortable.” 

“I’ve never seen Yona angry before.” Yukine said. 

“I’m not angry. I’m only annoyed.” I clarified. Yukine pinched my cheeks. “Stop pinching!” I yelped. 

“They’re too pinchable.” She stopped and stuck her tongue out. She did that to calm me down. 

“Let’s go, dad. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Aki said. 

“Don’t we have practice today?” I asked. 

“You didn’t know? Kei called it off. Ayumu is auditioning to get into the same school we go to.” Yukine said. 

“Really? I hope she does well.” 

“Despite her not liking you, you still treat her with kindness.” Sayo said, rubbing the top of my head. 

“Just because we don’t get along doesn’t mean I want her to fail.” 

“Did you decide what middle school you wanted to go to?” Aki asked me. 

“No. My instructor is going to send a few pamphlets. He’ll help me prepare for the entrance exam when I decide.” 

“You should audition like Ayumu. You might get in.” Yukine suggested. 

“There’s no harm in trying, but I can’t afford the tuition. It’s better to not get my hopes up. I’ll just go somewhere else.” 

“You could always find someone to sponsor you.” Yukine’s dad commented on the situation. 

“What does that mean?” I asked. 

“If you get enough recommendations and show excellent skill in music and impressive grades, you’ll be able to go for free.” 

“How many recommendations?” I asked him. 

“The more the better.” 

“Will my martial arts instructor count?” 

“Yes.” He replied. 

“Maybe it’s worth a try.” 

“See? You never know what’ll happen.” Yukine pointed out.

Mama walked over with a box. “We’ll see you later, Yona. Kei’s working on a new song. Be prepared to mark it all over.” Yukine warned me. 

“I hope I won’t hurt his feelings.” The three started to laugh. 

“Hurt them all you want. Besides, the only thing you’ll do is make the song better.” The group left. 

“Aren’t you going to hang out with your friends?” Mama asked. 

“They had things to do. Let’s go home.” On our way home, I thought about Yukine’s suggestion. It wouldn’t hurt to try, but I won’t get my hopes up. I’ll be upset when I hear mama say we can’t afford the tuition. When we got home, we noticed a car. 

“I wonder who’s here.” Mama said. I hope if it was an intruder, Alter would have taken them out. We walked inside. 

“Nana! The love of my life!” We saw Iemitsu in his usual clothing with his arms wide open. Mama ran inside and hugged him. She almost dropped the cake. What the hell is he doing here? When they parted, he looked right at me. “You grew a lot, Yona. You’re starting to look more and more like your mother every day.” 

“Why are you here?” I asked with disgust. 

“I came to see my lovely family. Aren’t you happy to see me?” 

“No. I liked it better without you.” 

“Nonsense! We all missed you.” Mama said.

“I’m glad to know you missed me just as much as I missed you.” Iemitsu said to mama. It disgusted me. 

“I’ll be in my room.” I said. 

“Go on, sweetie.” I went upstairs after putting the cake on the table and saw the dolls waiting for me. 

“That irritable man is here.” Aya said. 

“I know. Did he touch anything here?” 

“No, but he’s here to investigate his missing men.” 

“His missing men? An enemy is an enemy. I’m not interested to see what the difference is between his enemy and his men.” I commented. The four gave demonic smiles. 

“What if the ones that attacked are all his men?” Freya asked. 

“I’ll make sure Iemitsu’s life is full of sorrow. I’ll take everything from him starting with his men. He’ll eventually run out of things.”


	9. Acceptance

The next day, Tsuna skipped school to spend time with Iemitsu. There was something I noticed. Tsuna was different around Iemitsu. His movements were clumsier than usual. In general, he was more unbalanced, even idiotic than usual. Mama didn’t seem to notice, but she never notices anything. The dolls figured things out and didn’t like it. The house was drenched in a filthy stench.

“Yona, come here!” I heard mama say excitingly. I walked downstairs and saw her holding a pamphlet.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“You have been invited to audition at the Nightingale Academy for the Arts.” That’s the school Yukine and the rest go to. I took the pamphlet from her.

“Only top students in the audition and test will receive free tuition until graduation?!” I said with shock. Mama hugged me and started to jump with excitement.

“It’s tomorrow. Are you going to go?”

“Of course! My friends go to the same school.”

“You’ll have to prepare. Does the pamphlet say anything about what the audition will be like?” I looked at the information.

“No. It just says to be prepared and I need a reference.”

“I can ask your instructor to come by.”

“That’s okay, mama. I know who to go to. I’ll be back.”

At Kazuma’s house, I interrupted Kyoya’s sparring. “Yona?” Father and son questioned. I handed Kazuma the pamphlet. He let out a whistle. “Not many can go there.”

“Can I get a reference from you?” I asked him.

“Of course. I’ll have Kyoya drop it off later today. How does that sound?”

“As long as I get before tomorrow, I’ll be happy. By the way, that man is here.”

“That might explain the attack.”

“Did you figure anything out about those men?” I asked him.

“They’re from Italy. I don’t know if they’re associated with him or not.” Kyoya looked between us, confused to who and what we were talking about.

“An enemy is an enemy. It doesn’t matter whose side they’re on. I’m just curious.”

“If I find anything out, I’ll let you know.”

“He’s only here to investigate his missing men. He didn’t come for a vacation at all.” I said with disgust.

“Did you overhear him?”

“No. Aya told me.” Kazuma smiled.

“Does he know of their existence?”

“He only thinks they’re creepy dolls. Little does he know they’re weapons.”

“Your dolls are weapons?” Kyoya asked me. We ignored him.

“Will he kill you?”

“He’d have to make it look like an accident to get away with it. If I do die, know it was not an accident.” Kazuma’s smile turned maddening.

“I’ll keep that in mind. You should get home and monitor him. If you want security cameras, I’ll be happy to provide them.”

“Who needs technology when you have my skills.”

The next day, I got dressed in black shorts, white t-shirt, white thigh-high tights and my red heeled shoes. I put a dark blue cardigan over and walked downstairs with my bass. Mama was cooking breakfast while Iemitsu and Tsuna were already eating.

“Good morning, Yona. I see you’re ready. Come eat.” I sat down and a plate of food was put in front of me. I quickly ate.

“Why are you eating so quickly?” Iemitsu asked.

“None of your business.”

“Yona is auditioning for a spot at Nightingale academy.” Mama said.

“None of my business? It is my business. That’s my money you’ll be spending on tuition. Do you even know how much it is? Are you even that good to even get in? You’ve only been playing the bass for just over a year.” Iemitsu said in an outburst. Tsuna was taken back by the shout and almost choked. I rolled my eyes. “Don’t give me attitude. I work my ass off to provide for this family. You can go to a regular middle school like everyone else.” I stopped eating and stood up. “Don’t you dare go, Yona.”

“What’ll you do, Iemitsu?” I challenged him. He was hesitating to speak. I got my bass and put my shoes on. “I’m leaving.”

“Be safe, Yona.” Mama said. She didn’t even wish me good luck. Was it because of Iemitsu? She was happy until that outburst. Did she not want to go against him? Was she afraid of him?

When I got to the school, I saw a lot of students in uniforms and new students in their elementary school uniforms. They were all different. “What are you doing here?” I looked and saw Ayumu wearing the same uniform as Yukine and Sayo.

“I got an invite to audition.”

“I see. Well, you’ll need all the luck you can get.” Ayumu wasn’t being mean to me for once. This was character development!

“Thank you, Nakamura. I see you’ve gotten in. Congratulations.” I said with a smile.

“Thank you. It’s to be expected.”

“Yona?!” I heard Yukine and Sayo shout. They ran over to us. “What are you doing here?” Sayo asked.

“I got an invite to audition. I’ll get a full ride if I’m in the top.”

“That’s great! I hope you get in. You and Ayumu will be in the same class.”

“Plus, we’ll all see you every day!” Sayo said with her arms in the air.

“The competition is tough. You’ll really need to impress the committee. There’s more people auditioning this year.” Yukine said. I suddenly felt like I was suffocating. Would I even be able to do it? Ayumu smacked my face.

“Nakamura?” I questioned.

“You’ll be fine. Despite our differences, I acknowledge your skills as a bassist. Even though your technique isn’t there, you make up in passion. So, what if you don’t get in? It’s not the end of the world. You’re still with us.”

“Ayumu…” Yukine said with disbelief. This was the first time Ayumu has been this nice to me. I almost thought I was dreaming.

“Let’s go, Yona. You need to register.” Ayumu took me by my hand and walked me over to a table near the doors.

“Nakamura? Didn’t you audition yesterday?” The woman asked.

“I did. I’m helping a bandmate register.” They looked at me.

“Welcome to Nightingale Academy. Here’s the paperwork. If you have any questions, go ahead and ask.” She handed me a clipboard with a few pieces of paper.

“Thank you.” I took the clipboard and a pen. The three brought me to a bench so I could fill it out.

“Do you have a reference?” Ayumu asked.

“I do.”

“What about a song to play?”

“Do I play a solo or the bass part to a song?” I asked Ayumu.

“Normally, most bassists play a solo, but do whatever makes you comfortable.” I nodded.

“What about the test?” I asked her.

“That’s after the audition.” I filled everything I could.

“You have a weird last name.” Sayo said.

“Kurosawa? It’s my mom’s maiden name.”

“Huh? What about your dad?” Ayumu asked.

“My real dad disappeared somewhere. I don’t like my step-dad and I refuse to take his name.”

“Is he a bad person?” She asked.

“We just don’t like each other. I put up with him only because he makes my mom happy.”

When I was done, I gave the woman the clipboard and my reference. The woman filled out some more paperwork before handing it to a student. She then gave me a huge name tag with six numbers on it. “Here. This will help judges distinguish who you are. You may head into the auditorium whenever you’re ready.”

“Thank you.” I turned to the three. “I’m going now.”

“Good luck, Yona.”

“Kick ass!”

“Don’t disappoint us.” I couldn’t help but smile.

“I’ll do my best.” I walked inside and saw Aki.

“Yona?”

“I’m here to audition.”

“Follow me. I’ll bring you to the stage.” I followed Aki to a door that was propped open. “It seems like no one is in there. Go break a leg. I’ll be cheering you on from here.” I took three deep breaths before walking onto the stage. The stage was the only thing lit up. I saw a long table on the ground with seven people. Yukine’s dad was one of them.

“Hello.” I said. They looked at me and wrote something down.

“Your reference isn’t from a school or a music instructor. Why is that?” A woman asked with judging eyes.

“I got the invitation yesterday. My karate instructor was the only one available.”

“You do realize we could throw that out, correct?”

“A reference is still a reference. Unless it was specified on the invitation, any reference has to be accepted.” I replied.

“And what school did you go to?” A man asked.

“I was homeschooled.”

“And what made you want to go to school again?” He asked again.

“It’d be nice to interact with kids my age.” I answered without hesitation.

“Who’s your music instructor? You have it blank on your paperwork.” Another man said.

“I don’t have one. I’m self-taught.” Some of them didn’t seem to like my answer.

“How long have you been playing the bass?”

“Just over a year.” That took them by surprise.

“And do you think you can beat out others that have been playing for much, much longer?” A woman asked. She seemed almost appalled.

“Experience doesn’t always equate to how good someone is.” I replied. Two people shook their head.

“What song will you be playing? Twinkle little star?” Some of them laughed. Yukine’s dad was the only one that didn’t make any sort of reaction. I took a step back.

“What song will you play for us, Yona?” He asked me.

“Kurenai.”

“The old song from the 80’s?”

“Yes.” I took my bass out and plugged it into the amp. “May I make a comment before I start?” I asked.

“Go ahead.”

“You shouldn’t mock someone because of their lack of experience. It’s extremely unprofessional, don’t you think? It honestly sickens me.” I said with a cold voice. The select people froze in their seats. “May I begin?”

“Go ahead.”

Yukine, Sayo, and Ayumu went inside to sneak into the auditorium. They ran into Aki on the way. “Hey, did you see Yona?”

“We did. Don’t you want to see her audition?” Yukine asked.

“That’s exactly where I was going.” The four went on their way and snuck into the auditorium through a back door. The room was tense, but Yona didn’t seem too bothered.

“Kei?” Aki questioned. Kei was already sitting in the very back.

“Sit.” They all sat down. The committee kept pushing Yona.

“What the hell are they doing?” Aki questioned.

“They’re trying to break her.” Kei said.

“What song will you be playing? Twinkle little star?” The committee started laughing. It was pissing Ayumu off. Yona was a damn good bassist.

“They’re mocking her…” Sayo said with disbelief.

“What song will you play for us, Yona?” Yukine heard her dad and smiled. He’ll put his staff in line.

“Kurenai.” Yona replied. Did Yona actually know that song? The five looked at each other. She got her bass out and ready. “May I make a comment before I start?” She asked.

“Go ahead.”

“You shouldn’t mock someone because of their lack of experience. It’s extremely unprofessional, don’t you think? It honestly sickens me.” She said with a cold voice. The room went deadly silent. “May I begin?”

“Go ahead.” Ayumu couldn’t help but like Yona’s attitude. She didn’t care if they were professionals. She gave them what they deserved.

Yona took a deep breath before she started playing. They watched as Yona perfectly executed the song despite a few weird hand movements. It surprised everyone, especially the band.

“She’s never played like that before.” Yukine said with awe. Yona’s hand kept going up and down the bass. She even stopped when there was a solo for another instrument. Even the silence was timed perfectly. When she hit her last note, it left the five in the back with chills. Sayo was fighting to not outburst into an applause.

“I’m done.” Yona said awkwardly.

“Cute.” The five said at once.

“Come back when you’re applying to high school and get yourself an instructor. It’s obvious you have no skill.” One of them said. Yona didn’t react.

“You seem like you have passion, but you don’t show it.” Another said.

“I think she did just fine.” A man said.

“I think I can speak for all of us. Listen, Yona, you might have played well, but it just isn’t enough. You didn’t have that spark.”

“And what is this spark you speak of?” Yona asked.

“Passion for your instrument.”

“We’re sorry, but please leave.”

So, this was the type of people they were. I hung my head low. I performed as best as I could. The song is difficult with an entire band and by yourself, you need to have perfect tempo. I gave a small sigh and unplugged my bass. I tried my best and my best wasn’t enough. I looked at my right hand and saw how calloused my fingers were and shook my head.

“Bullshit!” I looked out into the audience. Who was that? Ayumu walked over to the committee with the rest of the band. What were they doing here?

“Students are forbidden from coming into the auditorium when there is an audition.” A woman spat.

“Why are you so biased towards her? Is it because she hasn’t been playing for so long? Huh?!” Ayumu spat angrily at the committee.

“It’s okay, Nakamura. I was already rejected.” I said.

“Shut up! You might not look like it, but you’re absolutely destroyed.” She was right.

“Even though she’s only been playing for a year, she has played the bass long enough where it equals out to three years.” Kei said. Why were they all sticking up for me? I didn’t get it.

“She didn’t even do any techniques correctly.” A man pointed out.

“Sure, but that’s what happens when someone is self-taught.”

“We already rejected her. Why are you five sticking up for someone like her?”

We all saw smoke rise from Ayumu. She was getting ready to blow. “Someone like her? Someone like her?!” Ayumu shouted. “She may not have the money to come here, but she has enough passion and skill to be here!”

“She didn’t show that she has passion.”

“Even if she did, she doesn’t have a credible reference.” Yukine’s dad started to clap.

“Dad?” We were all confused. He stood up, still clapping.

“That was a wonderful performance! I haven’t seen anyone else like you, Yona.”

“Sir?!” The staff said with shock.

“I would be honored if you accepted my invitation to become a Nightingale student.” We were all confused. I tilted my head. “You show no fear in front of authority and believe in yourself. No one has the gull to perform such a difficult song without an entire band to keep track of the beat. You looked at your hand and saw the hard work you’ve put in. You only thought about getting better, correct?” I nodded. “Then it’s decided. You, Yona Kurosawa, will become a student at my academy.”

“Don’t I need to take a test?” I asked him.

“You do, but I already got into contact with your instructor. He gave me a lengthy reference full of how much of a genius you are.”

“I’m really confused.”

Yukine’s dad walked onto stage and handed me a folder. “This is your official welcome.”

“What about tuition?”

“It’s covered. With your grades and commitment to music, you’ll fit in just fine.” He said in a gentle voice.

“Are you doing this because of Yukine?”

“No. I did this because you deserve to be here.” I smiled widely.

“Thank you, sir.”

“It’s my pleasure.” The rest of the committee were flabbergasted.

“Sir!”

“She already has the folder. It’d be a shame to take it away. You’d also be fired.” He laughed at his words. I packed my bass up and went outside where the five were waiting for me.

“Congratulations!” They all yelled.

“Thank you.” I looked at Ayumu. “Thank you for sticking up for me. It really means a lot.”

“I couldn’t sit by and let them tarnish your playing. The way you played sent chills down my spine.” Ayumu said.

“Yeah. You’ve been holding back on us.” Aki said with a pout.

“I’m sorry. That was the first song I saw a concert version of on the TV. I saw the bass and fell in love.”

“You really are cute.”

“Yona.” I turned and saw Iemitsu. My mood instantly soured.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to get you before you auditioned.”

“Why?” I asked.

“I won’t have you spending the money I’m working hard for to go to this academy.” I saw Ayumu start to get angry.

“It’s too late. I already auditioned.” Iemitsu let out a large sigh.

“Why, Yona? Why do you always do the opposite of what I tell you?” I rolled my eyes.

“I’ll fund it myself.”

“With what job? You’re only a kid.”

“Considering the admission for me is free, I’ll have to work a lot.” He looked at me with disbelief.

“You got a full ride?”

“Yes, now leave. You’re not wanted here.” He gave me a slight glare before leaving.

“Was that your step-dad?” Ayumu asked.

“Unfortunately.”

“He seems like an ass.” Aki said.

“He’s only like that to me. Well, should we go celebrate? Nakamura also got in the academy too.”

“You need to get your uniform first and then we can go celebrate.” Ayumu said before dragging me back inside. She brought me to the main office. “We’re here to get my friend a uniform. She’ll be attending the upcoming school year.” Ayumu said.

“What are your sizes?” The woman asked. Once I told her, she handed me my uniform which was bagged.

“Go change.” Ayumu said.

“O-okay.” I went into the bathroom and changed into the uniform I’d be wearing. It was a red plaid skirt with a white button up shirt underneath a beige blazer. In between those two layers was a blue vest. The upper park of the collar was red to match the skirt. The lines on the cuffs, collar, and pockets were lined with a dark blue fabric. The blazer was held together by two buttons. Instead of wearing a tie like Ayumu, I decided to get a ribbon. Since it’s our first year in middle school, our ties and ribbons were blue colored. Every year, we’d get a new colored ribbon or tie.

I walked out from the bathroom and was met with Sayo’s coos. “Stand next to Ayumu. We need a picture.”

“The uniform looks good on you.” Ayumu commented.

“Thank you.”

“Those red heals of yours are starting to become your signature.” Yukine said.

“What do you mean?”

“You always wear them and you make them look good with any outfit. We’ll have to incorporate them into your costume for the band.” Kei said.

“That sounds good.” When we went outside, Sayo pushed Ayumu and I in front of a cheery blossom tree.

“Smile!” The two of us smiled and once the picture was taken, we looked at it.

“It looks good.” I said.

“I’ll tell my mom to print it off. It’s just a good picture.” Sayo said.

“Are you done, Sayo? I’m hungry.” Aki said.

“Me too. Let’s get moving, ladies.”

“Sayo’s always full energy.” I commented dryly.

“We’re not cut out for that energy level.” Ayumu said.

“I don’t think anyone but Sayo is cut out.” She snickered.

“You’re right. By the way, you can call me by my name.”

“Really? Why?”

“You gained my respect back there. I thought you were a complete pushover, but you really let those jerks have it.”

“They deserved it.”

“Actually, I have a feeling you’re secretly scary. I like it.”

On our way to the live house, I saw Kazuma. He saw me and smiled. “The uniform looks good on you, Yona. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Kazuma.” He walked away.

“You know him?” Kei asked.

“He’s my karate instructor.” He paled.

“You didn’t tell us that Hibari was teaching you.”

“He was also my reference.”

“No wonder the committee didn’t like you.” We looked at Kei with confusion. “Most of the staff hate the Hibari family because they’re strict with taxes.”

“He’s not a bad person. As long as you’re not breaking the law, you won’t have a run in with them.”

“I’ll have to tell dad about that. He’ll have a field day firing those idiots.” Yukine said.

“Why would he be fine with that?” Ayumu asked.

“He’s been trying to find a reason to fire some of the staff. Now, he’ll have something to look into. We’ll finally be free from assholes.”

“Any asshole away makes for a better day.” I said with a satisfied smile.

“I didn’t know you were a poet, Yona.”


	10. Magnolia

When I got home, I saw mama having tea in the living room. She walked over and almost squealed. She hugged me tightly. “The uniform looks like it was made for you.”

“Thank you, mama. I also got the free tuition. Apparently, Yukine’s dad runs the academy.” Tsuna came downstairs and brightened up when he saw me. He ran and hugged my waist tightly. That was strange. He never does this and usually ignored my presence. His cheeks were red.

“Doesn’t your big sister look pretty?” Mama asked. Tsuna nodded, holding me tighter.

“Do you want me to read you a bedtime story?” I asked since this is how he’s usually act with mama. He’s a very spoiled kid but I didn’t mind.

“Yeah!” I opened my arms and he reached up. I picked him up.

“Let’s go. You can pick what story you want me to read.” When I got to his room, Tsuna ran to his bookshelf. Elf was on his bed. He must have been anxious about something if he grabbed her. “I’ll be right back, Tsuna. I’m putting my bass away.” I went to my room and put the bass in its usual corner. Aya gave me a look. Iemitsu must have done something. I went back into Tsuna’s room. He was under the covers with a book in his hands. I sat on the bed making him snuggle into the covers. He picked out Alice in Wonderland like usual. “Ready?” He nodded and pulled the covers up to his chin, a stuffed animal already in his arms.

Half-way through, Tsuna fell asleep. I tucked him in even more with a smile and put the book back. Elf stood up. “Something has happened.” She said quietly.

“I figured.” I picked her up and went to leave. Iemitsu was standing near my door. Our eyes met before his looked up and down my body. He obviously didn’t like the uniform.

“Come downstairs when you’re done settling in. We need to talk.” He went downstairs. I shut my door behind me and closed the curtains.

“Why does he have a sick up his ass?” I questioned. Aya grew to full size and wrote on a piece of paper. ‘Iemitsu has tempered with Tsuna. It’s why he’s reverting back to when he was much younger. It’s why he’s gotten a lot clumsier.’ Aya wrote. Before I could respond, she wrote something else down. ‘He put microphones in your room.’ Why would he do that? I took out a pen. ‘He suspects me then.’ She nodded. I should have figured. Even though I’m still a child in people’s eyes, I’m a witch in his. I guess he’ll treat me as such until the day one of us dies. I took my uniform off and put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. “I really don’t want to go down there. I bet he’ll berate me for one thing or another.” ‘Stay hidden.’ I wrote on the paper. Aya nodded and proceeded to get the four to hide. I left my room and went downstairs. Only Iemitsu was there. Mama must have gone to bed. “Can you make this quick? I’m tired.”

“And I’m tired of your attitude.” I rolled my eyes. “There. That’s what I’m talking about. You act like you have no respect for me.”

“I’m not acting. I don’t have respect for you.” I said honestly before plopping myself onto the sofa.

“Why is that?”

“My gut hasn’t lied to me once.”

“I’m not the bad guy.” Why did he say it like I accused him of being a criminal?

“What does that even mean? Who is the bad guy then?”

“The Nakamura family.” My mind stopped for a few seconds to soak that in. The conversation wasn’t even heading towards that, but he decided to use the Nakamura family as scapegoat. I’ll have to look into that when I have time.

“What kind of drugs did you take to come to that conclusion?” I questioned with confusion. Anyone would be this confused if their parent decided to berate their child’s friends. That came out of left park and frankly, uncalled for.

“Just listen to me this once.”

“No.” I was willing to listen, but now I’m not. I had to keep my anger under control before I try to actually hurt him.

“Yona.” He said in a testing manner.

“What’ll you do if I don’t listen to you? You’re never here to punish me and you’re never here for your wife and kid.”

“I’m trying to keep food on the table. What don’t you understand?”

“And you have to go overseas for that? Are you sure you’re not doing this to have some grand affair?” Iemitsu gasped.

“I’d never cheat on your mother. Do not ever question my loyalty to your mother.”

“Words aren’t that convincing, Iemitsu.” It fell silent between us.

“I’d never betray your mother. She’s my one and only.” I wasn’t convinced.

“You still didn’t answer my question. What will you do if I don’t listen to you?” I asked in a cold voice.

“I’ll make sure you have no life. I’ll even destroy that bass you love and pull you out of the academy you somehow got in to.”

“Go ahead. I’ve already accepted the offer which means you need an attorney to get me out of the academy against my will. I can always borrow a bass from the live house. Plus, I got in that academy with my hard work. You just can’t believe it because you have no faith in my abilities. And since you’re always concerned about me using your money, the tuition is free. You have no leverage to pull with the academy ordeal.” I spoke harshly, as if I was above him in every way possible. Iemitsu just shook his head.

“I just want us to have a normal father daughter relationship.”

“You’re not my father and never will be. You can try and act like it, but I’ll always reject you.”

“Everyone needs a father figure in their life. Let me be that.”

“I kindly refuse. You’re hardly one for Tsuna. What makes you think being a father figure to another kid will be any easier?” He couldn’t refute that.

“Can you promise me you’ll come to me if you need help or if you’re in trouble?” And to have him stab me in the back?

“No.”

“Dammit, Yona! I’m trying to get along with you.”

“We’ll never get along, Iemitsu.”

“Even for your mom?”

“If she asks me to, I’ll act like I can stand you. For now, I’ll continue the public display of disgust I have for you. Is this all?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Finally. I need to get to bed.”

Once the door to Yona’s room was shut, Iemitsu sighed heavily. He never liked confronting her. “What do I do, Nono?” Iemitsu questioned. He knew Nono was listening to the conversation. His phone was on the entire time. He needed help.

“That sounded rough.” Reborn spoke. Iemitsu could hear the smirk on his face.

“Reborn?” Iemitsu questioned quietly.

“I warned you to not rush marriage, Iemitsu. You’re too brash.” Nono said.

“What else can I do? She shuts me down every time I try to talk to her.”

“I would too if you were my step-dad.” Reborn replied.

“You’re not helping, Reborn.” Iemitsu said.

“I know. I’m on Yona’s side.”

“Why?” Iemitsu questioned in a rough tone.

“See? You get vicious the second someone is on her side. Why is that?” Reborn pressed.

“We just don’t get along.”

“Liar.”

“She looks like that witch.” Iemitsu finally admitted. Reborn and Nono looked at each other with disbelief.

“What witch?” Nono asked.

“Her grandmother. She’s an evil woman that wanted nothing but me dead.”

“You never told me this. Why does she not like you?”

“We always fought when Nana wasn’t around. The way she acted is the same way Yona acts.”

“Didn’t Nana’s parents die years ago?” Reborn questioned.

“Yes. They died in an unfortunate accident.” Reborn could hear how strained Iemitsu’s voice was but didn’t question him.

“Iemitsu…please tell me you didn’t kill them.” Nono spoke softly.

“I didn’t. I’d never do that to Nana.”

In my room, I had the pile of broke microphones on my desk. Alter was sitting on the desk in her doll form. “We took care of the problem. We can talk freely now.”

“Thank you. I’m sure you all heard what transpired down there.”

“We could. You handled him well, master.” Alter praised me.

“Now, what’s wrong with Tsuna?” I sat down on my bed. The rest came out of hiding.

“Tsuna all of a sudden ran in here and grabbed me. He was shaking. I checked his memories and saw that Iemitsu tempered with his mind.” Elf said.

“How did he temper with Tsuna’s mind?”

“He used his flame. It tempered Tsuna’s flame which is why he’s been clumsier than usual. He’s been falling everywhere since then.” My eyebrows furrowed. I didn’t know how to deal with flames. Alchemy was no big deal, but this was something new.

“There might be a way to fix him, but you’ll have to experiment before helping him. If you go in blindly, you will kill him.” Freya warned me.

“I’ll figure something out. Freya, keep an ear and eye out for any changes to my room or the house. Aya, if there are intruders of any sort, take care of them. Elf and Alter, you two will accompany me this weekend.”

“What do you have in store?” Elf asked.

“We’re going to visit the strongest man in Namimori. He’ll be interested in this development. I’m sure he’ll help me with anything we need.”

The next day, I wrote a letter and gave it to Kyoya. “What’s this?” He asked me.

“Give this to your dad. It’s very important that only he reads it.”

“I’ll give it to him.”

“Thank you, Kyoya. You’re really reliable.” His cheeks turned pink. I went to band practice.

“There you are. You were almost late.” Ayumu said.

“Asshole stopped me.” They all nodded in understanding.

“Now that everyone is here, I thought of some names to call ourselves.” Kei said, putting a piece of paper down on the table. On the paper were various names. “Which ones do you like?” He asked us.

“Black rose.” Aki said.

“Rarity!” Sayo exclaimed.

“I’m not sure.” Yukine said. The Nakamura siblings looked at me.

“I like Magnolia.” Ayumu’s eyes brightened up. She liked that one too.

“Why that one? It’s just a flower.” Sayo said.

“Magnolia’s represent nobility. With everyone’s personalities, we’d be seen as nobles no matter what name we have. We should have a name that matches.” I explained.

“And this is why you’re our bassist, Yona!” Kei exclaimed.

“Somehow, I think those two had Magnolia picked out and only wanted us to feel included in the decision.” Yukine said with a chuckle.

Since no one had a problem with the name, we started on what our image would be. Our music is our own, so our image should also follow the same motif. We sat outside with drinks and discussed some more thing pertaining to the band. “I want us to be ready for the school welcome to play a song.” Kei said.

“Will it be okay for Ayumu and I to play?” I asked.

“It should be fine. If not, we’ll just play for the festival at the end of the year. We’ll also need to get serious once school starts back up. I want to have a playset to have a debut concert.” Kei responded.

“We’ll have to work a lot harder then and get on Yona’s playing field.” Yukine teased.

“Huh?”

“Your solo was so cool. You need to go all out like that with every practice and performance. You’ll have your own fan club.” Sayo explained.

“Either way, we won’t need to worry about costumes until our debut concert. We’ll need to have them designed soon to go over a few choices. I suggest everyone to brainstorm a few ideas and draw them the best way you can.”

“I’ll also redraw anything.” Aki said. He was the artist of our group and enjoyed designing clothes. He’d probably make our costumes as well.

“Yona, I have a few ideas for a song. Can you help me arrange it?” Kei asked.

“I’ll try my best.”

“Great. Ayumu is the one that mixes everything including the background noise. Having you two on board will make this process a lot easier.” Kei said.

“I might not be much help, but I’ll try my best.” I said softly.

“Don’t doubt yourself. You’re good at what you do. You’ve unscrambled the mess of that one song.” Yukine smacked my back.

“That hurt, Yukine. Are you trying to kill me?”

“You’ll be fine. Our Yona is strong.” I rolled my eyes and drank my tea.

“Anyway, I won’t be here for the rest of the week.” Sayo said out of the blue.

“Why not?” Aki asked.

“Family from the states are here. I haven’t seen my grandparents in such a long time. Plus, my cute cousins are here.”

“Sounds like the whole family came.” Yukine said. I thought about my grandparents. I wish they could still be alive. “I think we should take the rest of the week off then. It’ll give us time to think about things for Magnolia.” Yukine declared. That’s when most of us broke off. It was just Yukine, Aki, and I. She poked my side. “What’s up? You made a face when Sayo mentioned her family. Are there problems at home?”

“No. I just miss my grandparents. They died when I was five, but I still remember them.”

“Were you close with them?” Aki asked.

“My mom and I lived with them until my she remarried. They basically raised me from birth till I was around five. Grandpa would always be joking around and in his garden while grandma would read a book and make the best snacks. They always called me their sunflower. It’s the little things I miss.”

“There’s no shame in that. It sounds like they were very warm people.” Yukine said.

“They were. It was never a dull day with them.”

“I think our theme of flowers is fitting.” Aki said. We looked at him. “Yona reminds me of a sunflower. You’re bright and stand tall no matter what. I think that’s why your grandparents call you their sunflower.” Aki explained with a small smile. I could help but laugh.

“I wish that was the reason they called me that. Grandpa just sucks at growing anything but sunflowers. They were his favorite flower.” I stood up and stretched. “Well, I need to get back home. Tsuna wanted me to read the rest of his favorite book to him.”

“I wish I had a big sister like you, Yona. See you next week.”

When I got home, no one was home. There was a note on the table. They went out for dinner. I raised an eyebrow. Mama wouldn’t usually do that because she never wanted me to be left out. “Master.” I looked and saw Alter in her human form. “We have two intruders tied up and unconscious.”

“Bring me to them.” She went upstairs and into my room. On the floor were two men in suits unconscious and tied up on the ground. “Did you find anything out?” I asked the dolls. The other three were in their human forms as well.

“No.”

“Are there any others around?”

“No. We cleared the area.” Aya said.

“Good. Let’s transport them to Kazuma. I have a feeling he’ll have fun with these two.”

“How shall we get him there?” Freya asked me.

“Alter will carry them. Elf, you’ll come as well.”

“Yes, master.” It was a short five-minute walk. We thankfully didn’t see anyone on the streets. It was an earie feeling. When we got to Kazuma’s, we were greeted by a maid.

“Welcome back, Yona. Master is in the usual room.”

“Thank you.”

We went inside the main living room and saw Kazuma with a cup of tea near him on the table. He was reading the newspaper. “Yona? You brought your dolls and two men? What is the meaning of this?”

“They’re intruders. I don’t know why, but the streets were completely clear of people. Even Tsuna and mama weren’t home.”

“And Iemitsu?”

“With them having dinner.”

“That’s odd. I’ll interrogate them and get back to you.”

“Did you get my letter?” He nodded.

“That man is starting to become a troublesome person. Why do you want access to prisoners?” Kazuma asked.

“I want to temper with their flames to see if I can do the same to Tsuna.”

“Why would I let you do that? You’ll kill prisoners.”

“The aim isn’t to kill. It’ll happen if I go too far. Just think about it. If there are less room in prisons, there’s more room for those that break the laws. Plus, if there was ever a prison break, only petty thieves would roam. You won’t have any murderers on the run.” I explained, hoping he’d give me access.

“I’ll accept on one condition for this to happen.”

“What is it?”

“You have to let me supervise and tell me everything you’re doing.”

“That can be done. I will have Elf and Alter present with me. Elf will provide me with backup and walk me through the process and Alter is my bodyguard.” Kazuma nodded.

“That is acceptable. I’ll bring these two to the detention center. Come here tomorrow and we’ll get started.”

“Alright. I don’t have any band practice for the rest of the week. I’ll be free whenever.”

Iemitsu was confused when contact with his men went silent. Their trackers were broken and they weren’t picking up their phones. They should have gotten rid of Yona by now. There was no way anyone would intervene. Iemitsu put a small device around their house and would drive animals and people away by manipulating their flames. It’d only give them a feeling like the forgot something at home. Thus, clearing the streets. His men had two special devices that negated the effects. They’re probably still in the middle of cleaning things up. However, when he got home, Yona was watching TV as if nothing happened. He looked at her with wide eyes.

“We’re home.” Nana said joyously.

“Welcome back. Where were you?” Yona asked. Tsuna ran into the living room to join his sister.

“We went out for dinner since we didn’t know when you were coming home. It was delicious. We brought you back a steak meal. I thought you’d like that.” She jumped up and took the meal from Nana.

“Thank you, mama. I’m really hungry. Band practice was cut short today. Sayo’s family came from overseas.” Yona said as she walked to the microwave. She put the container in and heated up the contents inside.

“Did anything happen while we were out?” Iemitsu asked.

“No. I came home, took a little nap, and then practiced the bass. We have a name for the band by the way.”

“What is it?” Nana asked.

“Magnolia.”

“Nana, I’m going to go get some drinks from the convenience store. Do you want anything?” Iemitsu asked.

“No, I’m good.” When Iemitsu left, he shook his head. Someone interfered. Yona shouldn’t be in Japan anymore. He went into the store and picked up some beer for himself. Inside, he saw Kazuma Hibari. He’s basically the one that controls the area and surrounding cities. He’s the only one that somewhat knows of Iemitsu’s involvement in the mafia.

“Fancy seeing you here, Sawada.”

“You as well.”

“Can you tell me why your men are sneaking around my town?” Kazuma wasted no time in asking his question.

“They’re here to protect my family.”

“Is that so? Why aren’t they normally here?”

“They’re my personal bodyguards.”

“If that’s the truth, why did I find two men arranging on kidnaping your daughter?” Iemitsu’s blood froze. It was Kazuma that interfered and took his men.

“What?” Iemitsu feigned shock.

“You keep your business out of mine, but once you harm a Namimori citizen, I won’t allow you to be here. See this as your warning. Do keep your men in line or I will. If I didn’t step in, they would have gotten a hold of her.” Kazuma took his sake and went to pay for it before leaving. When Iemitsu left, he ran into some of his men.

“Sir, did you find the culprit?” One asked.

“I did. We will not do anything at the moment.”

“What about Yona?”

“We leave her be. The one that took out our men is watching the house carefully. We must take our time. Once suspicion is taken off the house, I’ll send more in. For now, relax and think of ways to quietly and carefully remove her.” Iemitsu quietly ordered.

“Shall we kill her?”

“As long as you make it an accident, I won’t care. She needs to be taken out one way or another.”

“Yes, sir.”

The small group said before dispersing. He’d need to be careful about how he proceeds with his secret mission. No one should know about this. If Nono were to find out, he’d be kicked out of the family or even executed. However, the risks didn’t outweigh the happiness of never seeing Yona’s face ever again. Like that witch, Yona will try to ruin his life and he needed to stop her before it was too late. Sure, Nana would be sad, but she’ll get over her eventually. She has Tsuna and that’s all she needs.


	11. Experiment With A Side Of Cake

In the morning, I took Elf and Alter with me to Kazuma’s. I made sure Iemitsu was busy with Tsuna so I wouldn’t be questioned. Mama thought I’d be going to visit Yukine, but she didn’t need to know the truth. It wasn’t important enough. When I got to the Hibari estate, I was welcomed by a maid. She escorted me to the main room. Kazuma was waiting for me. “Good morning, Yona.”

“Good morning.”

“Are you ready?”

“Of course. I found out those two were Iemitsu’s.”

“I did as well. I confronted him at the store. He even talked to his men. He has a grudge against you. What happened between you two?” I rolled my eyes.

“Your guess is as good as mine. I have no idea what the relationship between him and my grandmother had, but his grudge for her is now on me. Can we go now?”

“I like how you’re always about business. Let’s go.” We walked outside and into the already running car. The driver drove to our destination. I took Alter and Elf out and allowed them to turn to their human forms. Kazuma always liked seeing them go from dolls to humans.

“Can we kill him yet?” Alter asked me.

“Iemitsu? No not yet. We need to slowly take everything away from him and then go for the jugular.”

“You’re starting to act more and more like a proper master.” Elf said happily.

“It’s to be expected of me. I will surpass all of my ancestors.”

When we arrived to the building, Kazuma brought us inside and inside an elevator. “Now, Yona, I should warn you about the prisoners you’re about to see. They won’t hesitate to kill you if you leave a single opening. Some of these are yakuza members while others are from other mafias.”

“Can you also send the two I captured downstairs? Their stench is familiar to Tsuna’s.”

“As you wish.”

The door opened to reveal a long corridor with multiple steel doors. At the end was another door. Inside was an interrogation room that seemed to work as a torture room. Two police officers brought in one of the two I captured and tied him on the medical examination table. He was awake, trying to fight his way out of the restraints. He saw me and gasped.

“You!”

“Should we knock him out?” I asked Elf.

“There’s no need to, master.” The man looked at Elf and Alter with wide eyes.

“He seems to be afraid of you two.” I commented.

“He should be.” Alter said.

“I don’t see why. You two aren’t scary.”

“We shouldn’t be scary to you, master. We live because of you. Our loyalty will always be for you” I turned to the man.

“Do you work for Iemitsu?” He kept quiet. “I’ll pull the information out one way of another. Let’s get started, Elf. Let’s try not to kill him in the beginning. It’ll be a shame.”

Kazuma stayed in the corner of the room and watched Yona work with Elf. There was a hexagon projection in front of the two that appeared out of nowhere. It looked like a screen. Strange characters were on the screen in a yellow color. Elf was describing everything. It made his head spin. No wonder Yona is tired a lot of the time during practice. The information that she takes in is immense compared to a regular person. The man would scream when Yona would touch a certain thing on the screen. She wasn’t bothered by it. Kazuma didn’t feel comfortable seeing Yona not flinch, seeming to be fine with hearing someone suffering. Even though most Hibari were conditioned to punish people and ignore their cries, Yona wasn’t a Hibari. She was a girl brought into a crumby situation by a man who held no care in the world for his family. Fon would love to see how far Yona has come. His face would be priceless if he saw her dolls could actually come to life. After three hours, Yona was still at it.

“Let’s stop for now, master. He’s going to die if you press anymore.” Elf said.

“Okay.”

After another two days of intensely messing with the brain, the man died on the table. Yona clicked her tongue in protest. “Did you figure anything out?” Kazuma asked her.

“A little bit. I wrote a few theories down of what could work, but I don’t think I have enough experiments to work on.” Yona replied.

“Each one would kill a person then?” She nodded. “I’ll provide the specimen for your experiments. You worry about finding a solution.” Yona brightened up.

“Thank you, Kazuma. With this, I’ll be able to save Tsuna.”

Kazuma admired her determination and protectiveness of her family. She knew Iemitsu was bad and is doing her best to get him out of her life. However, she can’t do all of it alone which is why Kazuma is helping her. He motioned the guards to bring in the next man. He was surprised to see Yona and started cursing her name.

“You can’t make me spill any information, brat. Even if I die, you won’t be alive for much longer. You’ll always be a target. You will die by our hands.”

“The other one was much quieter. It’s a shame I accidentally killed him.” Yona replied.

“A brat like you can’t kill anyone.” Her hands were shaking.

“Don’t waste your anger on him, master.” Alter came out of the shadows. She glared at the man. “We can’t afford to kill you. My master needs to learn how that weak flame of yours works.”

“You don’t know how to use your flames?! Pathetic! I can’t believe we were hired to kill you.” The man spat.

“Iemitsu really knows how to pick scum.” Yona commented slyly which made Kazuma smile. The man let out a gasp.

“You know?”

“I know a lot more than he does. Who do you think is killing all of his men?” She started to laugh. The two dolls joined their master. “Alter, strap him down. Let’s start the testing from the top of the list.” Kazuma watched as Yona mercilessly experimented on the man. She went to the point of his own death. “We only made it half-way down the list. Kazuma, can you get another?”

“Shouldn’t you take a break?” He asked.

“Master.” Elf said seriously. Yona looked up.

“What is it?”

“There’s trouble at the house. Freya is currently running away from men.”

“What about Aya?”

“She’s hiding Tsuna in a closet that’s protected by a barrier. They won’t be able to see anything.”

“Will Freya be alright?”

“She’s the fastest one out of us. She does represent the wind after all.” Yona seemed to understand what that meant.

“I can tell these aren’t Iemitsu’s men. Either way, have Freya take them out if possible. We’ll go back to the house and take care of any lose ends there.”

Once we left, the two turned into dolls. I hid them in the bag I always carried. I kept a few noise tubes with me in case I needed to use them. When we got home, there were many cars parked outside. Iemitsu was talking to a few men. He saw me and walked over. “Where have you been?”

“I was at a friend’s house.”

“Do you know where Tsuna is?”

“No. Is he not inside?” I asked.

“I haven’t been able to find him. The police are here to look for him. It’s going on an entire day he’s been missing.” Aya must have hid him well.

“He might be in the closets.” I suggested.

“I looked already.”

“I’ll look again.” I walked inside and saw how destroyed the house was. Every single room was dug through. It looked like there was a literal storm inside. I went to my extremely messy room and opened the closet. Aya was holding a sleeping Tsuna.

“Welcome home, master. I kept him safe. He knows to run to us when he’s in trouble.”

“Smart boy.” I picked Tsuna up and walked outside. “Found him.” Iemitsu ran over.

“Where was he?”

“My closet. It’s really messy in there. Plus, that’s his hiding spot when we play hide and go seek. He can make himself invisible. It’s really amazing.”

“I’m glad he’s safe.”

“Did something happen?” I asked.

“Someone broke in and stole a few things. I was afraid Tsuna was kidnapped.”

“Well, he’s safe. I’m sure he went in there to find one of my dolls and fell asleep.”

“Has he done that before?”

“Yeah. He likes Elf the most. He probably thinks she’s the prettiest.”

“Where do you keep your dolls?” Iemitsu asked. It made me suspicious.

“I don’t keep them in one place. They’re usually in my room or on my bed.”

“You still sleep with dolls?” A man asked.

“I do. Do you have a problem with that? I bet you still live in the basement of your parents’ house because you’re too much of a loser to do anything.” I spat back.

“That’s not nice, Yona.”

“Neither was his comment. I’m going to put Tsuna in his bed so he can sleep and then I’m cleaning my room. I hope whoever did this is captured. I’d like to give them a piece of my mind.” I went in the house and put Tsuna in his bed. In my room, Freya was waiting for me.

“I arrived without any trouble. I killed the ones that caused this.”

“Good job, Freya. I’m glad you weren’t hurt.” I took Elf and Alter out of my bag and put them on my desk. Freya and Aya joined her sisters and watched me clean. I made sure there wasn’t anything stolen. However, I needed to make a safe place where only I and the dolls can reach. Once everything was cleaned, Tsuna woke up from his nap. He walked into my room and hugged me. “Did you have a good nap?” I asked. He nodded, still groggy. “Why don’t you go downstairs? Your papa is there. He’ll get you some juice and a snack.”

Once Tsuna left, I closed my door. “We think alike, master. You need a place to put your work. A surveillance system will also be wise.” Freya said.

“Leave that to us.” Elf said as she and Freya stood up. They went into my closet and closed the door. I wonder what they were going to do. I opened the door and then laid on my bed. It was comforting to just lay down and do nothing. I didn’t like Iemitsu’s men here. It made the entire place almost unbearable to be in. I couldn’t even open a window for fresh air.

“I should be productive.” I sat up and took out a notepad and a pencil. I wanted to sketch a few costume ideas so I won’t get yelled at. Well, Kei would just give me looks of disappointment for a week. Ayumu would complain for weeks. Those two really are two peas in a pod. After having two sketches completed, I was proud of my work. Though, I’m sure everyone else had better designs. I went for a more Victorian feel for the costumes with a hair accessory for each one of us. I yawned. I’m more exhausted than I thought. “I guess a little nap won’t hurt.”

By the end of the week, I ended up killing ten more inmates. I didn’t feel bad. They were there for a reason. Kazuma always reassured me by listing their crimes. None of my hypotheses worked and that bothered me. “Even I’m stumped, master.” Elf admitted.

“That’s okay. The most we can do is keep Tsuna as protected as possible.” I tried to be optimistic mostly for myself.

“Can you delete the memory?” Kazuma asked.

“It isn’t that simple. I wish it was. Tsuna experienced trauma right before that happened. If I mess with that, I’ll do permanent damage. I’ll just leave it for now. Thank you for everything, Kazuma.”

“Come to me whenever you’d like to try something else. Your alchemy is enchanting to look at.” When I left, I ran into Ayumu at the cake shop.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

“Cake. Isn’t that why you’re here?”

“I-I’m not getting cake for myself. I’ll get fat. It’s for Kei.”

“Whatever you say, Ayumu.” I teased and got in line. She walked over and pinched my cheeks. I let out a high-pitched groan from the pain.

“Don’t give me that, Yona. I know you’ll tell Yukine the second you get.” I pinched her cheeks in retaliation.

“I wasn’t going to tell anyone, but I’ll tell Sayo instead.” She let out a muffled gasp.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

“Excuse me, ma’am. Would you like to order?” The girl at the register asked me.

“I’d like one slice of chocolate and one slice of lemon.”

“Two pieces? You’ll be fat by the time school starts.” I pinched Ayumu’s cheeks harder.

“If you haven’t noticed, the fat is going somewhere other than my stomach. Plus, thick thighs are in.”

“Don’t make fun of my petite form!”

“Don’t make fun of my cake eating habits!”

“Alright, girls, that’s enough.” A deep voice said. We let go and looked up to a man that looked like Kei with long hair.

“Dad?” Ayumu questioned nervously.

“I never expected you to act that way, Ayumu.”

“I’m sorry to have shown an unsightly side of me.” She said seriously. Her father looked at me, analyzing every inch of me. It was the same as when Iemitsu looked at me.

“You must be Yona. It’s a pleasure to finally meet the one that surpassed my son’s expectations.”

“That’s me.” He kept staring at me. It was making Ayumu uncomfortable.

“Let’s go check to see if the cakes are done, dad.” She said to try and distract him. He stayed in place. Was he trying to intimidate me?

“Is your dad always like this?”

“Not really.” I looked at Ayumu.

“He doesn’t seem too bad.”

“I don’t think any dad can top Iemitsu.”

“He’s only a sperm donor. I got a cute brother who thankfully resembles my mom.”

“Are you not his daughter?” Ayumu’s dad asked me.

“I’m thankfully not. There’s nothing good about him.”

“He’s a jerk that got mad at her for auditioning and getting free tuition at the academy.” Ayumu pointed out.

“He still brings that up when he wants to pick a fight with me. If I do the slightest thing, I’m called disrespectful. That man leaves overseas for over a year and thinks he can boss me around.” I said with irritation.

“You should give him a piece of your mind.”

“I do. I’m not afraid of him.”

“That’s what I like about you, Yona. You’re not afraid of anyone even if they’re higher in authority.” Ayumu said, making me smile brightly. I loved it when she complimented me.

“You’re the only one I’ll let trample over me.”

“Damn straight! I’m the boss.”

“Of course. The merciless boss who would never be caught eating cake.”

“Yona.” She said in a threatening voice.

“I’m just kidding.”

“Miss, your cake is ready.” I turned and paid for my cake. I took the box.

“I’ll see you at practice, Ayumu. Enjoy your cake.” I gave a small bow to her father before walking away. I stopped and turned back. “And Ayumu?”

“What?” I smirked and held a thumbs up.

“Nice body.” Her face slowly turned beat red.

“Y-Yona!”

Ayumu never understood why Yona teased her all the time. She used to be completely afraid of Ayumu and now she’s acting as if they’ve been friends since kids. “She’s a nice girl.” Ayumu’s dad said.

“You think so?”

“I do. I’ve never seen you act like that before. You came out of your shell.”

“I did?”

“I’m proud you’ve found a friend. It was never easy for you.” The duo got their cake and left. “So, does Yona have a tough personality?”

“Why are you asking me? You usually know the second you look at someone what their personality is.” Ayumu said.

“I couldn’t get a read on her.”

“That’s new. When I first met her, she was really quiet and acted as if she was walking on eggshells. She’d agree to almost anything. I thought she was a doormat.”

“What changed your perception of her?”

“When she auditioned, the committee treated her like garbage. They were trying to break her by mocking her skill. One asked if she was going to play twinkle little star and they laughed. She didn’t let any of that bother her. She then told them how unprofessional they were being and how it disgusted her. Her voice was cold and it made them all shut up. She didn’t care if they were professionals and would decide her future. She gives it how she sees it.” Ayumu explained with a smile.

“Why did they do that?”

“Her reference was Kazuma Hibari. He’s her martial arts instructor and her only reference. We’re waiting to hear back from Yukine if they actually broke the law. We’ll see when school starts.”

By the next week, band practice was back in full swing. This meant we all had to give a small presentation on our costume designs. For some odd reason, we all picked the Victorian theme.

“I like Yona’s head pieces.” Aki complemented.

“I know I’ll be wearing shorts. We don’t want any panty shots.” Sayo said.

“We also need to incorporate Yona’s red shoes.” Kei said.

“And thigh-high tights.” Ayumu put in her own two cents. Aki started a sketch for me that only had the tights and shoes.

“White tights seem better with red shoes. I think the skirt should be short to show off her legs.” Yukine said.

“Do I get a say in what I wear?” I asked.

“I guess.” Yukine said.

“You guess?!”

“What do you want to wear?” Aki asked.

“Shorts would be nice with a skirt component. I don’t care what I wear for the top.”

“That’ll work. I’ll make something look nice for you, Yona.”

“Thank you, Aki.”

“I’ll wear a skirt then. Make it shorter on one side.” Yukine said.

“Sounds good. Anything for you, Kei, Ayumu?” Aki asked them.

“We trust you.” Kei responded.

“Okay. Yona, I’ll need your measurements.” He pulled a tape measurer from his pocket. I took off my jacket and followed his every command. “Your muscles are quite defined.” Aki said. He was taking the measurement of my thighs. Everyone else zoned in on my thighs.

“My instructor made my program specifically for me. He explained it as helping me optimize my body’s energy.”

“Well, he is a Hibari. It’s no wonder you’d be as strong as them.” Aki said, writing down the measurement.

“Kazuma’s son can beat me in a spar. I’m being taught self-defense.”

“Why?” Kei asked.

“I’ve been attacked before. Kazuma took care of the guys and offered to teach me.”

“Who would ever attack you?” Sayo questioned. A lot of people would attack me, but they didn’t need to know. They’d eventually be dragged into my game and I didn’t want that.

“I’ll get things started tonight.” Aki changed subjects immediately seeing my discomfort.

“When will you have them completed?” Kei asked.

“I’ll be done before school. Don’t worry. I’ll work overtime for this.”

“Don’t let it get in the way of your piano lessons.”

“I won’t.” Aki said lazily. While Aki worked on the overall designs of the costumes, we worked out what we’d play for the school opening. Surprisingly, we’d play the song I rearranged.

“Why that one?” I asked Kei.

“It’s the best song we have right now. Plus, it’s the official public appearance of Magnolia. It makes sense to play a song we all worked on.”

“I just hope the school will let us play.” Sayo said.

“My dad okayed the performance. I’ve already been spreading our name around social media and to other students. People are excited.” Yukine said.

“Good. Start leaking snippets of our songs and previews of our costumes once we have them. I’ll get someone to make a website for us. We’ll need to create biographies for each person.” Kei said. My head was starting to spin. There was so much work and so much I didn’t really understand.

“There is one thing people are most excited about.” Yukine said. We all looked at her. She then looked at me.

“Everyone has been asking about our mysterious bassist. All people know is she’s an incoming first year.”

“That’s right. Yona will be the most talked about person among our fans. The fact she will be seen as a nobody is even better. People love underdogs.” Ayumu said with confidence. I didn’t really understand what was going on, but I went with it.

“You’ll get used to it, Yona.”

“I hope so.”


End file.
